User reviews

I was kinda looking forward to this movie having seen some of the media pictures and after watching 15mins of it, I was ready to take a nap. Ray Liota has never really been the 'up-front' guy that you expect to see in a movie like this and he does nothing to change the outlook in this movie either. Often seen walking around with his pot-belly sticking out and frequently mouthing a bunch of 'cliched' sentences, his character is so different from the portrayed 'guy who has slept with hundred's of women and even old flames can't keep there hands off' type of guy that the weak script calls for. The story is weak to the point of being funny. Its like the script for this has been made up from scenes and lines from some of the (much) better offerings in this genre. All of the characters are way too predictable and offer nothing that hasn't already been done to death. I even found the soundtrack also very annoying and repetitive. I'm no real film buff nor a real movie critic but this movie really owes everything it makes from the promotion. Unfortunately, if you pay to see this you'll come out of the movie theater feeling ripped off.

well i saw the plot and decided to watch simply because i don't remember watching any serial murder movies lately...

i was not expecting anything from the movie because i knew in the first place that it is a low budget project but since the plot was appealing i went ahead and to my surprise i liked this movie in many ways. first the story itself. technically no loopholes in the script. second,characters were totally convincing and it didn't occurred at any point of time that they are unknown or never been in the lime light many times which usually happens in a small budget productions that everything is fine but star cast with poor performance brings the house down. so hats off to the stars of this movie. Third, even without showing much violence the director was able to portray the right scenario of crime scenes. so one dimension of the direction where you don't need a chainsaw or a shotgun to paint the walls with blood and body parts to make it a gore fest. You can look over the present resources and develop a plan to use them in a best possible manner. that's what the director has been able to pulled off. And last but not the least the characters in this movie don't behave in the typical way which we always make fun while watching such movies when we felt that this is the most stupidest thing to do in such a situation like even the most famous movies franchise SAW forced us to think that many times. so showing some things out of league was refreshing to me simply because it makes sense. There is this scene where the female partner of Lotta meets a guy and she refuses to date him simply because his partner is in trouble and she suspects that it is not a coincident that suddenly a guy turns up who seems nice and why he is interested in dating a cop which seems out of ordinary and she suspects that he might be dangerous but it would not have happened in the SAW or any other serial killer movies. so credit goes to director who applied logic with his characters thinking making it more of a thinking character's movie than merely simple performance where character is repeating his lines without bringing feel about his character.

Overall it is a small budget DVD release so i don't want you fellows to expect anything great from this movie but I'd say this technically it is decent film who does OK and has nice performance by stars, also the pace of the story is good so if is a good way to kill time at home and most of you might feel good about it. so given the limitations of the director & producers i would say that it is a nice attempt though screenplay could have been more tight but anyway it is refreshing. upcoming directors might learn something from this movie. My rating 7/10 simply because their hard work entertained me.

Ray Liotta and Christian Slater are names, for whom you would say they are A class actors. So they are, however they cannot save poor scenario and a poor movie. Furthermore, such a movie does not bring them some good reputation and in future I will apparently have to avoid movies in which they will be acting. An hour and a half of your life spent to watch this movie is a period, which you will never get back. It is a poor TV-like movie with unrealistic scenario. (well, at least for majority of us normal, ordinary people, family guys). Very poor developed characters. Christian Slater role is marginal, not developed, his role could have been played by any guy from the street who never acted before. Just forget it ... grab a book or go for a walk ...

Ray Liotta plays Jack Verdon, a Seattle cop investigating a string of brutal murders, with all the targets being women he's slept with in the past. Immediately a suspect, Jack has to tangle with FBI Agent Vuckovitch (Slater) work outside his job to catch the killer.

The script seems fairly straight-forward but it has a very compelling religious aspect that comes in when we meet the killer. I'm not spoiling anything by saying that we meet the killer fairly early on. His character is written in a way that kept me interested as to his intentions. I had a hard time believing Liotta's character would remember all the "100's" of women he'd slept with, but whatever. Verdon and the killer are definitely the strongest characters, though, with the Vuckovitch character being a constant strain.

Liotta, Slater, and Ving Rhames are the bankable stars advertised on the cover, but all three men could have switched roles and you would have had the same movie. For instance, if Slater played Verdon, Liotta the Police Captain, and Rhames the FBI Agent, or so on. All three do an adeqaute job, though Slater served more as comic relief than anything else. Liotta's wife is played by the gorgeous Giselle Fraga, whose beauty just about saves her flat acting. Michael Rodrick shows some real potential as the killer, his cold performance stood out from the supporting cast.

Cinematography caught the drizzly Washington weather perfectly, though as someone not a Seattle native, I was confused as why it was never really brought to light which river the title alluded to.

"The River Murders" makes for a nice day off or rainy day mystery movie to watch with some popcorn. I'd recommend it.

I love Ray Liotta (Goodfellas...). There is something about his eyes and his interpretation of text that plants him in the garden of good actors. Ving Rhames and Christian Slater are not slouches; they both have a body of work that they can be proud of.

The film has shortcomings but I want to compliment the actors, crew, and artists involved. It's hard to hit the ball out of the park every time but they suited up and did the best they could.

What I see is a script that had quite a few voices that had to be placated in order for the film to be made. There are too many levels of intellect and articulation. Nobody edited the script. The script teeters uncomfortably between genres; the director creates a new sub-genre of pornography at times and then the contextual shots want to make the film artsy. Crime-Porn? I guess.

The script isn't even really that insufferable. The problem is with he pacing, the camera work, the editing, and the dumbing down of EVERY element--! Nobody looks good...and if no one looks good what's the point?

Homicide detective Jack Verdon's (Ray Liotta) sex life has been robust over the past 40 years. Unmarried until just recently, Jack played the field and enjoyed every minute of his promiscuous adventures. That is until his former female partners start showing up murdered thus leaving Jack as the prime suspect of an F.B.I. investigation.

This is the central plot line for The River Murders, a new direct to VOD and DVD title staring Liotta, Ving Rhames and Christian Slater that is much better than is should be for reasons that we won't be able to fully scope to any reasonable conclusion.

The movie begins sharply with the discovery of a female victim that has been found in a local river. Jack arrives at the scene and immediately identifies the girl as someone to which he had prior relations. When the body is taken back to the morgue, a ring is discovered in the dead woman's vagina. Before Jack can come to grips with his connection to the victim, he receives word that his mother has died mysteriously. And then, another murder of a former female acquaintance is found with the same M.O. as the first girl.

This prompts an F.B.I. investigation lead by Agent Vuckovitch (Slater) who is an obnoxious and not entirely believable agent who spends more time trying to provoke detective Verdon than he does on the exploration of the killer.

The River Murders soon slides into conventional thriller mode and more bodies are found while we are introduced to the killer and we get the two destined story lines of Verdon's confusion and struggles with the F.B.I. and the killer's relentless mission to continue a personal vendetta against jack that will be revealed before the final credits roll.

The River Murders is not overly graphic, it's not particularly believable and it has a killer whose motivations are something that can only come out of the Hollywood machine. Yet, we liked it. Maybe it was the always reliable acting by Rhames (who plays Jack's boss) and Liotta. Maybe it was the no nonsense direction by Rich Cowan (Shadow of Fear) that kept things moving without convoluting the plot line or stretching the brisk 92-minute runtime with unnecessary subplots or dialogue traps. Whatever the reason, we thought The River Murders worked and was far better than the average made-for-television fare that the story would suggest suited.

The heavy weight of the broad motive of the killer is the only thing that keeps The River Murders away from a better grade and acceptance. But that shouldn't deter you from giving this VOD effort a shot. It is better than most and hardly deserving of a complete ignore.

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This is the kind of low budget movie offering a mix of seasoned actors, who do a great job with the material and their screen time, and not so seasoned ones who fill in the blanks.

Liotta is top notch and Slater is his usual enjoyable self.

Michael Rodrick has got game and Sarah Ann Schultz creates a very hot detective.

With a handful of surprising twists and few glaring errors, it managed to tell a really interesting story by avoiding the usual pitfalls of guns and sexploitation.

This had the look and feeling of those B-movies of the eighties where you could sit in front of the picture and be just captivated by the storytelling and the performance of thespians who don't need big bucks for them to show they can act.

A good effort.

As for the whiners? Well, 2 species have sprung on IMDb in the last few years: those who like nothing and those who hate everything.

As for the rest: you'll probably enjoy the surprises as well as I did.

I kept with this to the end and then WTF? Over all, a good thriller, but I could have written better dialog. If you like Ray Liotta, this is for you. Christian Slater is pretty good, a different role from his norm. Stick with it until the end, and see what you think..

Wooden acting, laughable dialogue, and a completely implausible and unoriginal plot.

For example: "I'm going to have to ask you to turn in your badge and your gun until we clear things up. I'm sorry."

Given a second star because the photography and lighting met today's general standards, although without any particular effort on the part of the director of photography to strive for any originality or aesthetic quality.

A stinkeroo. A doggie turd painted gold.

You've been warned.

Okay, there's been a plethora of serial murder type movies in the last 20 years. Is this just another one ? Probably. It's not exactly ground breaking but it is fast paced and keeps you guessing. It is unique in some ways because although it exposes the killer fairly early on it conceals their motive until late in the movie. I've always considered Ray Liotta a 'B Grade' actor, guilty far too often of merely reading his lines and showing fake emotion. Whilst there are times when he's guilty of these shortcomings again in this movie, his performance for most part is solid and convincing. The support cast is equally strong and the underrated Christian Slater also shines but is sadly lacking in screen time. A haunting soundtrack and tight dialogue makes for enjoyable movie if the genre is your thing. Recommended viewing 8/10

An original idea in typical crime drama style. Ray Liotta was his usual great acting self. The story certainly kept you wondering until it unfolds. It was based on something I have never seen any other movie even similar. It does keep your interest level up through out the movie. The Horror factor isn't very high making it user friendly to most people. I do like these types of movies and do consider it worth watching. I don't think I would run right out to get it but I would give it a thumbs up. So I would recommend it moderately. Great movies are really hard to find and sometimes you have to settle for these pretty good movies.

I thought this film was actually pretty good but predictable. I watched it this morning on GET- TV. The film is set in Washington State with Ray Liotta as a veteran detective. When there is a serial killer on the loose, the investigation makes startling connections to Liotta's character.At first, he is under suspicion for the crimes. Ray Liotta does a decent acting job here as Detective Jack Verdon. The rest of the cast includes Ving Rhames and Christian Slater among the investigation team. The scenes by the river are quite picturesque. Jack's life is examined and there are flashbacks to his teenage years. He is happily married to Ana who can't have children. The film has terrible scenes of horror with the crimes. As soon as we know it isn't Jack, we're waiting for Jack to catch the killer. The ending is abrupt but predictable. The serial killer in this film reminds me of an episode of Criminal Minds. Anyway, if you enjoy crime and mystery films, you should watch this film just for entertainment.

Overall the acting is just brutal but she really takes it to a new level of terrible. I like the idea of the story and I love Liotta and Slater so I made it through ... but again I'm not surprised there's no picture of her on IMDb because this woman cannot act.

I was never much of a fan of Ray Liotta, except maybe for The Goodfellas,and he proves me right in this movie. The actress playing his wife is struggling with English and with acting (no, she's not the next SoniaBraga, I'm sorry to say). Christian Slater does his usual crazy. Nothing suspenseful, nothing thrilling and no drama (though they do try, so eagerly, in every shot) about this. This was free on-demand, so I'm happy I didn't have to pay for it. Don't let the others fool you, this movie is not worth your time. The writing is horrible, the dialogue is childish, the plot is stupid, the "twist" is easily figured out, the acting is horrible - it is murder-by-numbers with all the clichés you can throw in, mixed up and then spilled out for you viewing "pleasure". Stay away!

Just saw this movie, and thought I'd write a review. Ironically, this is the first review I've written on IMDb.

The movie was great, but definitely a TV movie. There are a lot of theater movies out there, that suck much, much more, and I would definitely have spent $10-15 to see this in theaters.

The plot is gripping, and draws you in. Although there are some scenes that do feel hollow, the movie has a quick pace, and keeps you guessing. I've seen Ray Liotta in a few movies/shows before, and this is definitely his best acting out of all of them. The movie has suspense enough for you to worry about a character as well.

See this movie, it's truly one of the good films out there.

An easy watching, non brain taxing Serial killer movie, with a unique M.O.