User Reviews

Story was average. Acting was ok. The river beast was awesome. Music was unbearable. Laughs minimal. But worth a watch.

The good citizens of River Town, USA are being terrorized by a giant river beast, and we must rely on a chocolate milk drinking disgraced tutor to save us all. Neil Stuart (Matt Farley) returns to his hometown after being left at the altar by his fiancee Emmaline (Elizabeth M. Peterson) three years before. He is a believer in a giant creature that lives down by the river, but the rest of the town doesn't believe him. He is hassled and assaulted constantly, eventually staying in his godmother's (Joanie Greenan) basement with his former best friend Teddy (Tom Scalzo). Neil gets a gig tutoring Ally (Sharon Scalzo), the daughter of a former professional athlete (Kevin McGee). As various subplots begin to develop (Neil is hounded by a reporter, Teddy finds love), the river beast makes himself known to the local citizens and begins attacking members of the large cast.

This is the third film I have seen from Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh, after "Freaky Farley" and "Monsters, Marriage, and Murder in Manchvegas," and this is the better of the three. These three films still remind me of John Waters' early films. The cast's delivery of their lines is stilted, the dialogue sounds like it was lifted from sixty year old films, and the monster is obviously a guy in a rubber suit, but this time Roxburgh and Farley have opened up the proceedings and I didn't feel like I was watching a private joke I wasn't in on. From the earnestness of Farley's leading man persona to the nice-to-see-again Sharon Scalzo, this outing is nothing more than goofy fun, and part of that fun is watching what weirdness the film makers have up their sleeves next. I usually wasn't disappointed, with cat litter and a harmonica-playing big game hunter entering the fray. Of course, this isn't a John Waters film, and I still wish I could get some edge. The film runs a few minutes too long, and the violence and gore is purely PG level. The odd universe this story exists in is interesting, but this may not appeal to the average moviegoer. On the other hand, weird and underground cinema fans will probably eat this up. The technical aspects of this film are strong, the cinematography is crisp, the editing and directing are confident, and the sound is excellent. "Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You!" is cornball stuff, but it's fun cornball stuff. I liked it enough to slightly recommend it, and it's good to see Roxburgh do such a good job behind the camera with each film he directs.

This is a funny, charming, unique, throwback slice of Americana with a monster in it. Don't watch this expecting scares or gore, watch this because it is chock full of invention, humour, observation and ideas. It's a homage to old time, small town ideals and camp fire story telling. In this cynical, self referential, gratuity obsessed culture it is a breath of fresh air to see this low budget, independent cast of colourful and creative characters band together to make this movie. When I watch it I can't keep the smile off my face but it's not a derisive smile, it's enthralled, entertained joy.

On top of everything else it is photographed really well and there are some genuinely wonderful shots in the film. The music is an unrivalled delight, the acting is a style all of its own and although it's obviously a suit, the Riverbeast costume is terrific!

I would urge people check this and the group's previous efforts Freaky Farley and Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas as they offer more peculiar, funny tales of the things that might be lurking in your woods!

With the baffling description of being a Comedy Family Horror this is one of those films which simply defies words.

It's a comedy which failed to manage a single laugh, it simply isn't funny. It's sure as hell not a family movie and describing it as a horror would be laughable.

If I had to describe its correct genre I'd have to use an expletive.

The film itself is such a bizarre creature, it's poorly acted (Though I think it's intentional) with an incredibly fake looking creature and over the top clichéd storyline.

Honestly I can't think of a single redeeming feature except that the appearance of the monster brought me lots of nostalgia.

Embarrassing unfunny mess and everyone involved should be blacklisted from the industry for this travesty.

The Good:

A small dose of nostalgia

The Bad:

Awful soundtrack

Laughable acting

Every joke misses its mark

Red warning flashes are annoying and pointless

Introduction sequence is dumb

Most accurate Mass movie of all time. Funny as heck tongue in cheek comedy, this is really the best movie from New England

The premise of this film could have been so good, but it just missed the mark for me. The story was okay, and I love a creature feature. I liked the design of the monster, with it's intentionally bad charm. I can respect an indie film getting themselves out there too.

The lines are awkward and I think that is intentional to lean into horror comedy, and a bit of nostalgia. But the delivery was so flat. I really wished they'd gone all in. Since everything was so flat, it just didn't produce any laughs for me.

Because of every actor being so flat, I found it a bit boring. If they would have gone all in, I would have loved it and been more entertained. Since I do enjoy "bad" horror.

Matt Farley is an indie film master! His movies are full of humor and have an amazing cast of non-professional actors who provide amazing performances and this movie is full of quotable moments. I called Matt to tell him how much I loved his films and he sent me this movie! I let a friend borrow it and now everytime I go for a hike he asks me if I ran into any "picnic babes" in the woods. If you like this movie give Matt a call and tell him!

A cinematic triumph. Better than anything Disney has released in the last 5 years since embarking on their "cultural awareness". With "Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You", the terrible acting and ridiculous dialogue is part of the fun. Sometimes enjoying a movie doesn't require some big-budget, self-righteous movie studio to tell us what we should be supporting.

"Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You" centers around Neil Stuart - an outcast in his hometown for perpetuating the legend of the "Riverbeast" - a Creature from the Black Lagoon knock-off who, despite his clumsy and slow mannerisms, is stealthy enough to elude detection by the locals. Will Neil be vindicated???

Low-budget move that is entertaining as hell.