The next Obsession? Near-perfect "magnificent" horror confirms 2027 release date

Highly-anticipated new horror film River has confirmed its release date for 2027 after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rapturous applause, just like Obsession did last year. Will we have another horror smash hit on our hands?

River follows three siblings who return to their hometown to scatter their father's ashes at a particular spot along the river that meant a lot to him.

But it's not long before their boat breaks down, they're miles from civilisation, they have no phone signal, and someone – or something – is stalking them.

Related: UK film release dates

Following its debut screening at the festival, Universal and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster have picked up Joshua Giuliano's film for a 15 January 2027 release.

That's for the US only at the moment, but we'll sure to let you know when a UK release date is confirmed.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, River has a near-perfect score of 94% positive from the 31 critic reviews that are currently collected on the site.

TheWrap wrote: "This macabre, magnificent horror slasher will drown you in pure terror... Initially refreshingly restrained, it's also willing to let everything rip once all the cards are on the table."

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"It's lean and efficient, anchored by its tremendous cast and a unique setting that's utilized to its fullest when generating scares," wrote Bloody Disgusting.

The visuals were also highly praised, with IndieWire calling it "a feast for the eyes", while Inverse stated that the film "pushes the slasher subgenre forward artistically".

RogerEbert.com said that "the real star here is the sound design and remarkable POV choices that announce newcomer Giuliano as a major genre talent to watch", but believed the film might be "too brutal" to be a mainstream breakout hit in the way that Obsession was.

River will be released in US cinemas on 15 January 2027.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.