Float On

ABC's The River: The waters have been tested, and we're appropriately horrified

ABC's new experimental TV concept — the upcoming found-footage series The River — is as horrifying as one might expect from Paranormal Activity'sOren Peli.

The found-footage innovator created and helms the eight-episode series, which is produced by Steven Spielberg and premieres Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. central time. (We got a sneak peek Jan. 19 at Austin's Alamo Theater.)

The series marks the "found-footage" format's jump into TV, and follows a documentary expedition set out to rescue TV personality Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), a fictionalized Steve Irwin adventurer type after who has gone missing in the Amazon. The two-hour pilot, though enjoyable, raises some concerns as to whether or not this brand of horror can succeed in the drawn-out realm of television. However, Peli and crew execute the transition well enough, hooking me for at least the next few episodes.

The documentary search-and-rescue is a clever plot device that allows the characters to be accompanied by professional cameramen — a novel way of avoiding the dreaded shaky-cam that pollutes so much found-footage horror.

The pilot opens with footage from Emmet’s show-within-the-show, a nature/travel/kids series that has been on a successful 22-year run. Through the footage, we are introduced to younger versions of three central characters: Emmet the explorer; his neglected son Lincoln (Joe Anderson); and loving, fellow adventurer wife, Tess (Leslie Hope). The action quickly switches to a present-day Lincoln eulogizing his famous father on national TV, after which he is surprised by his mother and a live camera crew whilst drinking away his sorrows at the local bar.

His mother, who still believes Emmet is alive in the Amazon, has gathered funding from a big-name TV network in order to search for the lost explorer — under one condition: both she and Lincoln must participate in the search and rescue. Now that’s some good reality TV.

The documentary search-and-rescue is a clever plot device that allows the characters to be accompanied by professional cameramen — a novel way of avoiding the dreaded shaky-cam that pollutes so much found-footage horror. Luckily, the series is lead by Peli, the director who breathed new life into the genre with his 2007 hit, Paranormal Activity. Hopefully, with him in — not to mention Spielberg as producer — the series will avoid getting hung up on too many found-footage clichés.

Still, the mid-season pick-up utilizes all of the familiar found-footage tricks: security cameras set up to capture what the camera crew can’t; spooky creaks off frame; and, of course, too-fast-to-track shots of the monster, whatever it may be. And though none of that was tiring in the pilot, stretching out what many see as gimmicks for multiple seasons might prove difficult.

After the show, the audience was treated to a Q&A with Peli. The Israeli filmmaker gave insight into where the film was shot (surprisingly, not on a river), a future road map of the show and said that the show will employ a kind of “monster of the week” format, wherein the crew will face a different kind of scare each episode. All in all, he seemed confident that he and his team have crafted a new and exciting interpretation of the found-footage sub-genre, a daring jump into the unforgiving world of television.

The pilot certainly succeeded as an introduction to what can be expected from the rest of the season, and it did well to set up each character and their role in the plot, all while using found-footage conventions to great effect. So, whether or not the show can remain fresh after half a season is still up in the air. I call the pilot a success and encourage both fans of horror and good TV to tune in to ABC Feb. 7 to give the show a shot.

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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