‘So Cold the River’ Movie Review: West Baden Hotel Setting Adds Eerie Beauty to Film
There’s certainly something in the water at the West Baden Springs Hotel. Director Paul Shoulberg’s new movie, a supernatural thriller, So Cold the River takes place in the small town of French Lick, Indiana, where magic water and an enormous hotel draw people in to stay. Starring Bethany Joy Lenz (Dexter, One Tree Hill,) Katie Sarife (Annabelle Comes Home,) and Andrew J. West (The Walking Dead,) the movie delivers on chills from the story to the setting.
‘So Cold the River’ is based on the book of the same name by Michael Koryta
Koryta, who hails from Indiana and authored So Cold the River, weaves a supernatural mystery set in the famous West Baden Hotel. In the novel, a disgraced filmmaker named Eric Shaw is commissioned to create a character profile on a man named Campbell Bradford. Campbell, evil as they come, murdered the hotel’s original owner in front of the man’s son because he refused to sell Campbell the hotel. Campbell and the boy then disappeared, never to be seen again.
However, a woman named Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric with a large sum of money to figure out the details of her father-in-law Campbell’s life. The only clue she gives Eric to work off is a mysterious green bottle filled with the infamous Pluto Water from the West Baden Hotel. Twists and turns keep the reader on their toes and create a perfect tale ripe for Hollywood’s magic.
Bethany Joy Lenz serves as one of the executive producers of the film
So Cold the River stars Lenz as Erica Shaw (in the place of the original Eric) and travels to create the same character profile in the book. Once there, she meets a man named Josiah Bradford, a relative of Campbell’s, played by West. The two get flirty during a night at the casino, and Erica asks Josiah to take part in her film, to which he reluctantly agrees. All the while, Erica has been sneaking sips out of the mysterious bottle when no one’s looking.
A handful of other characters spice up the film, including Sarife as Kellyn, a voracious fan of Erica’s prime movie-making days, and Deanna Dunagan (Stillwater) as Anne McKinney, the West Baden’s unofficial historian. Lenz’s portrayal of Erica nails the eeriness needed for the tale, but it’s the hotel that shines. The movie’s setting adds unsettling anxiety to the film with its massive atrium and mysterious healing water.
The movie version of ‘So Cold the River’ needed a little more to cross the finish line as a standout
While the book intertwines Campbell’s story from the past along with Eric and the present-day events, the film does not. Time restraints often hinder a movie from creating an exact replica of the novel it’s based on, and So Cold the River is no different. While Lenz’s role plays Erica as dark and moody, the audience remains unsure whether to root for or against her.
Overall, So Cold the River makes excellent use of the setting at the West Baden. The constant dim lighting is enough to get just under viewers’ skin. Plus, Lenz, West, and Sarife pull off stellar performances.
The finale left us wanting more detail about Campbell, Erica, and the rest of the characters. Without enough pieces of the puzzle, it’s hard for the viewer to figure out the big picture in the end. In the end, So Cold the River leaves a bit of your thirst unquenched.
