‘Beware the water witch’
Evil River aka Shanda’s River is a 2018 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Marco Rosson (New Order) from a screenplay by Nicola Pizzi. The Associazione Culturale Iria-Tacci Films movie was produced by Giorgio Galbiati and stars Marcella Braga, Claudia Marasca, Margherita Remotti and Diego Runco.
Plot:
Emma (Margherita Remotti), a university professor, is visiting the small northern Italian town of Voghera, to carry out a study on the bizarre case of so-called Shanda’s River.
The river was renamed after the brutal murder of a young female peasant Shanda (Marcella Braga), accused and executed for being a witch in the early 19th century.
For several years, local girl Giulia (Claudia Marasca) has been organising a sightseeing tour narrating the story of the witch Shanda. Emma wants to take part of the tour but gets caught up in a curse that forces her to relentlessly repeat that same day. She keeps waking up in her hotel room at 4:00am and constantly getting killed by two cult members…
Evil River will be released in North America on DVD and VOD by the Wild Eye Releasing, date to be confirmed…
Reviews:
“Director Marco Rosson is smart in how he portrays this, and although he has plenty of opportunity to show blood and violence, he does not over indulge and that is to the benefit of the film as it allows the narrative to maintain a strong narrative flow rather than becoming reduced and stifled by constant bloodshed that adds no value to the film.” Cinema Europa
“Shanda’s River also has a lot in common with Groundhog’s Day (1993), but is obviously darker in nature. The Campus (2018) took a similar direction with cyclical events. Both films start with the same basic premise, but end up in very different places. The music by Mauro Crivelli keeps everything feeling creepy. The practical gore effects by Eleonorita Acquaviva are often raw and bloody. ” John Migliore, Indie Horror Online
” …manages to tell a very interesting story with its fair share of violence for the average horror fan and plenty of unusual plot twists for those who dig deeper […] add a directorial effort with an emphasis on atmosphere and tension and a relatable cast, and you’ve got yourself pretty good genre entertainment.” Mike Haberfelner, Search My Trash
Cast and characters:
- Marcella Braga … Shanda
- Margherita Remotti … Emma
- Claudia Marasca … Giulia
- Toni Pandolfo … Inspector De Gennaro
- Diego Runko … Daniel Roth
