'River' Slasher Sets January 15, 2027 U.S. Theatrical Release

Acquisition and theatrical date

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster will release the slasher film "River" in U.S. theaters on Friday, January 15, 2027, after acquiring the title following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The companies signed a deal valued at more than $10 million for the rights to the film, beating out other suitors including Sony Pictures and Netflix. The film had previously been set for release on Shudder's streaming service as the genre label's first original production, and was produced by Independent Film Company and Shudder.

Plot and creative team

"River" follows three estranged siblings who reunite in their hometown after the death of their father to scatter his ashes at his favorite spot on a remote river. When their boat breaks down and they are stranded miles from help with no cell service, they realize they are being stalked by a faceless killer emerging from the woods, and must reconcile long-standing grudges to survive. The film marks the feature debut of writer-director Joshua Giuliano and stars Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Max Mattern and Dane DiLiegro. Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Focus Features had separately announced "Occupant" as Giuliano's next film shortly before "River" debuted.

Festival reception and competing releases

The film emerged as a breakout from the Toronto International Film Festival, where it screened in the Midnight Madness section, and is currently at a 94% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. On its January 15, 2027 opening weekend, "River" will share the marketplace with two other wide releases: "The Beekeeper 2" and "Children of Blood and Bone."

Producer statement and genre context

Scott Shooman, head of IFC Entertainment Group, said in a statement that seeing "our first Shudder Original Production launch at Toronto with this kind of response — from audiences, critics, and the marketplace — is enormously gratifying," and positioned the deal as consistent with Shudder and IFC's focus on identifying projects with established and next-generation filmmakers. Blumhouse Atomic Monster has continued to release work from emerging genre filmmakers in 2026, including "Backrooms" and "Obsession."

Unresolved details

The complete domestic distribution footprint, marketing positioning and screen-count plans for "River" were not disclosed in the announcement. The future status of Shudder's planned streaming release window, which the acquisition displaced, was also not detailed.