Genre: Horror | Mystery

Air Date/Time: February 7, 9/8c

Network: ABC

Creators: Oren Peli & Michael R. Perry

Teleplay: Michael Green and Michael R. Perry (“Pilot”),

Story: Oren Peli and Michael R. Perry (“Pilot”)

Writers: Michael Green & Zack Estrin (“Marbeley”)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Joe Anderson, Leslie Hope, Eloise Mumford, Paul Blackthorne, Thomas Kretschmann, Daniel Zacapa, Shaun Parkes, Paulina Gaitan

Synopsis:

Paranormal thriller “The River” follows the story of world famous wildlife expert and TV personality Dr. Emmet Cole, host of the beloved series “The Undiscovered Country.” After Cole goes missing deep in the Amazon, his family, friends and crew set out on a mysterious and deadly journey to find him. Led by his wife, Tess, and estranged son, Lincoln, the rescue mission will take them deep into the unexplored reaches on the Amazon River. A place where nature is cruel, magic is real, and nothing is what it seems.

Here’s what you want to know: Do I recommend this? YES. BUT you must watch both hours. The pilot episode is a setup episode. We meet the characters, and get some understanding of their history together. It has nice tension, a good creep factor, and there are some decent scares. But if we had only the first hour to go by, I would definitely be on the fence. The second hour, however, was definitely a level up on the creep factor and scares, with some really good visuals to match. I am definitely in, with just one concern.

As I said, the first hour was the setup hour, with periodic interjections of Scare. The second hour was a Level 4 creepfest; American Horror Story was Level 5. Level 4 means you can watch alone at night but you won’t forget about it right away. I really enjoyed the second hour, but I was left with a tiny concern that the series could quickly become formulaic. It’s too soon to say, after just two episodes, but that would kill the attraction of this show for me pretty quickly. As long as they continue to develop the one or two underlying story arcs, it will remain on my Definitely Recommended list.

Now for some of the details. The cast is solid, with no apparent weak links. The characters are “types” but I find that easier to follow in the early days of a new series. Especially by the end of the second episode, dimension has been added to every one of them, and I do actually care what’s going to happen to them. Some more than others, of course, but that’s always part of any storyline. And I must thank whoever made the decision to allow Paul Blackthorne, who plays the producer, and Shaun Parkes, who plays one of the cameramen, to keep their British accents. Not only do I love British accents, but by allowing those two production men to share it, it makes them seem united; in this case, united in their quest to capture every moment with a camera, shooting this series-within-a-series. The persistent presence of cameras is a theme in this show as it would be were this a real documentary.

This is a “found footage” series, and I have to say that they use it extremely well. It’s organic to the storyline, so it doesn’t feel gimmicky or forced. The style is used almost exclusively, but it isn’t distracting. I think it works seamlessly and adds a lot of tension and movement to the production. Kudos to the director, the camera people and the editing and postproduction staff for some excellent work. There’s no music to speak of, by the way, though there is a lot of great sound-work.

All right, time for me to address the elephant in the… jungle. Lost. It pops up all over the first hour. Some of it is inevitable, as they shot The River on location in Oahu. So, we have tension and the unknown and the supernatural in a somewhat familiar jungle setting; okay. Lost doesn’t have a monopoly on creepy jungle goings-on. Other aspects, however, will have Losties howling. There is near-exact copying of a couple of visuals, an effect, an important line, and even a sound that is far too reminiscent of … well, you’ll see. I am a watched-from-the-beginning Lostie and I’m telling you: try not to let it bother you. Sure these elements are irritating, but really, just stay with it. They only occur in the first episode; the second episode is basically Lost-free, with the inescapable exception of the location. Moving on!

The setting, the premise, and the style of The River make it feel fresh and worthwhile. The creepiness and bits o’scare added in make it a Don’t Miss. I’m in.

I give The River, Season 1 Episode 1 “Pilot” and Episode 2 “Marbeley,” Four Out of Five Stars.