Take Me to the River

Name: Take Me to the River
Genre: Drama
Released: March 18, 2016
Duration: 84 min
Rating: 65

2016

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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4.8

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4.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Take Me To The River

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Movie Details & Credits

Film Movement | Release Date: March 18, 2016 | Not Rated

Summary: Ryder, an artsy, confident California teen heads to Nebraska for a family reunion. After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he holds off at his mother's request but nevertheless makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and his eye-catching shades. No one seems particularly impressed except his 9-year oldRyder, an artsy, confident California teen heads to Nebraska for a family reunion. After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he holds off at his mother's request but nevertheless makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and his eye-catching shades. No one seems particularly impressed except his 9-year old cousin Molly, who likes to follow him around. When they go to the barn to look for birds in the rafters and she comes back screaming and inconsolable, Ryder comes under suspicion and, in the process of clearing his name, learns that some family secrets are sometimes better kept that way. [Film Movement]… Expand

Director: Matt Sobel

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 84 min

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Critic Reviews

100

IndieWire Ibad Shah

Jan 31, 2015

The darker undertones of the family are handled with surprising nuance considering the first-timer behind the camera. The movie deals in open secrets, implications, and unsettling histories; a sense of alienation haunts virtually every scene. Read full review

Alonso Duralde

Mar 23, 2016

Take Me to the River isn’t a horror movie, but then it’s not not a horror movie, either. It’s a slowly tightening vise, all about suspicion and hostility and resentments and what people aren’t talking about when they talk to each other. A stunning debut feature from writer-director Matt Sobel, Take Me to the River is Polanski, with cicadas. Read full review

John Hartl

Mar 31, 2016

Wonderfully confident and strange, Take Me to the River marks an auspicious directing debut for Matt Sobel. There’s not a stale moment in it. Read full review

Ronnie Scheib

Jan 31, 2015

The superlatively acted indie promises more than it delivers, but chillingly evokes sufficient primal dread. Read full review

The Playlist Rodrigo Perez

Jan 31, 2015

Sure to baffle some, it’s a weird movie that isn’t actively weird, but what’s striking about the picture is Sobel’s point of view and confidence. While the movie is amorphous and porous, it’s clear this is exactly what the filmmaker is going for, and that’s certainly bold for a first timer. Read full review

Stephen Hunter

Mar 31, 2016

The menace never becomes palpable, whether because of illogical plot lines or questionable casting. The stakes are so high, but the suspense never rises to the occasion. Read full review

Diego Semerene

Mar 18, 2016

It's difficult to believe in Ryder's gullibility, if not willingness to be caught in his uncle's strange web of provocations. Read full review

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User Reviews

Tss5078

Feb 5, 2018

The more things change, the more things stay the same. That is supposed to be the message of this unique Sundance Film Festival winner, however any message the film intended to share was lost by it's sheer disturbing nature. Ryder (Logan Miller) is a Gay California teenager who is going withThe more things change, the more things stay the same. That is supposed to be the message of this unique Sundance Film Festival winner, however any message the film intended to share was lost by it's sheer disturbing nature. Ryder (Logan Miller) is a Gay California teenager who is going with his parents to a family reunion in Kansas. Knowing that her rural family will never understand, Ryder's mother has kept that little detail from the rest of the family, much to Ryder's chagrin. Ryder rebels in his own way by wearing an outrageous outfit and keeping to himself at the family outing, only spending time with his young cousin, Molly (Ursula Parker) who wants to play in the barn. When Molly comes running back from the barn with an unusual bloodstain, Ryder earns the ire of the rest of his family and wants to tell them he's gay, but apparently being thought of as something else is even better than that. If this film displays one thing, it's that homophobia is alive and well, and that should have been more the focus of this film. While I think everyone pretty much suspected Ryder was gay, the whole situation with Molly made them think he was something else too and the focus was on that. The families reaction to it was what was even more disturbing as it ranged from what you'd expect to sheer ridiculousness. I honestly can't believe some of the things that happened in this film, as they were both disturbing and seemingly without much of a purpose. Logan Miller stars and now that I've seen him in a few other things, I can honestly say that he's the kind of actor who has to fit the role. He has this kind of whiny, emo boy personality that just doesn't fit with everything. In a film like this, if anything I'd expect him to be more outraged, emotional to the point of being over the top but he really wasn't, it was as if he didn't grasp what he was being accused of. Take Me To The River focused on a single event and just didn't let go, everything else became irrelevant. The film was disturbing, the acting was sub-par, and a lot of what happened just didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

CameraBounceGod

Apr 12, 2018

the fact that sundance and netflix let this become a thing is one of the most unsettling things i've ever seen..the fact that pedophilia seems to be hidden behind the word indie here has seemingly gone over my head..people who are tired of sex and feel alone in the world as it is mightthe fact that sundance and netflix let this become a thing is one of the most unsettling things i've ever seen..the fact that pedophilia seems to be hidden behind the word indie here has seemingly gone over my head..people who are tired of sex and feel alone in the world as it is might actually kill themselves and honestly this was more disturbing then if rooney mara had banged robert redford in the discover(I didn't see it all but at this point im sure that she did). The one positive thing i can say whilst i only scanned though it to find my heart ruined at the river is that i found myself pondering the alternate reality dimension of a male 9 year old young orgasming on a young adult lesbians neck...if matt sobel isn't in hell for making stoker look like an innocent children's book by the end of 2018 then i am going to smash apart my television and firestick to pieces with an axe and drink myself to death like the priest in Constantine. Jesus or whoever isn't completely insane is doing barrel roles in their grave. 50 shades freed is going to have turn to coprophilia and pedophilia most likely a new script after they catch wind of what has been allowed over here..a zero for this sick jerk film is the most generous thing iv'e ever done and i am constantly doing good things.This is exactly why I've always wanted the entertainment industry including music and news to be destroyed. combining this with the half hour compilation i've made of women's butts footage that I've seen in movies and tv, i hope that other countries win world war three. i'm going to call my compilation unnecessary illuminati ass worship and this can be in the pedo bonus round at the end. I hope that aliens come and help me to get revenge.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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