**Potential Spoilers**
Across the River (2013) is yet another movie I was unaware of but by chance stumbled upon whilst browsing Amazon Prime. The movie is a low budget affair, set in woods on the border between Italy and Slovenia. The main character is an ethologist (he studies animal behaviour) called Marco, indeed there are few character's in this movie and very little interaction between them. I really wanted to like this movie, the woodland setting is a personal favourite, but alas this movie was a movie without a pay off, but a whole lot of teasing. A frustrating movie.
The plot revolves around Marco and his study of animal behaviour in a remote wooded area. He sets up cameras in various locations and sets traps in order to capture wildlife so it can be tagged with a camera and GPS tracker. One such trap captures a fox, so after having tranquilised the fox he fits it with the camera/GPS tag. From what I can deduce the fox ends up running away from what Marco thinks were wolves, and ends up in a seemingly abandoned village. Marco is able to see this via the camera attached to the fox. That morning he sets off in his camper van across the river to explore the village. He discovers the mangled remains of wild animals such as a deer and sets traps expecting to trap a predator. Of course the predator begins to hunt him and the village is not completely abandoned. Will Marco unravel the secrets of the village before he himself unravels? Watch it if you absolutely must find out (I wouldn't bother).
To say that Across the River is a slow burner would be a complete understatement. The pace is painfully pedestrian. Don't get me wrong a good patient build up in a horror movie can be an effective way to build tension or throw in a jump scare. The build up that detailed Marco traversing the woods was excellent, and the scenery was extremely impressive in it's remote beauty. The build up that started when Marco got to the village was initially effective but after some considerable time the building of tension was replaced with my increasing inattention. I could forgive this over egging of the build up if there was a satisfactory pay off, but in my opinion it never materialised.
On a technical level there is no doubt that this is a movie made on a budget but it never felt "cheap". The cinematography was good and particularly enjoyable where the scenes at the start of the movie when Marco was setting up traps. The acting was also good and the leading man was convincing. There was, however, little dialogue as interaction between characters is minimal. Most interaction is actually between an old man, his wife and the authorities looking for Marco. All in all this movie will be marmite to horror fans. A few will adore it, a lot of us will deplore it's endless build up without a satisfactory climax.
4 out of 10
Summary: overly long, but with strong technical points, and beautiful yet creepy scenery. I would avoid it, but if slow burner movies are your cup of tea drink it up! Gore fans should look elsewhere as only minimal gore.