Adapted from Michael Koryta’s novel of the same name, So Cold The River is a slow-burn supernatural thriller strong on atmosphere but muddled in execution. The screen adaptation by writer-director Paul Shoulberg switches the gender of the main protagonists, but tracks the novel’s core narrative and sets his movie in the same iconic Indiana hotel used in Koryta’s book.

Erica Shaw (Bethany Joy Lenz) is a documentary filmmaker specialising in true crime and macabre subject matter. Down on her luck, following a calamitous misjudgement on a recent project, she takes on an unexpected commission. Settling into the spectacular West Baden Springs Hotel, she begins work on a biopic of a seemingly reviled local entrepreneur Campbell Bradford (Michael J Rogers), now on his deathbed. It soon becomes clear that Campbell’s baleful influence has damaged individuals and communities over many decades. With the support of a fangirl intern and an amateur local historian, Shaw starts to piece together elements of Campbell’s disturbing life story. As she works, she is troubled by apparitions from the Campbell family’s past – which might be dreams, proof of her ‘second sight’ abilities, or hauntings.

The most effective elements of So Cold The River come from the way that Shoulberg uses the extraordinary architecture of the hotel (somewhere between a colosseum and a mausoleum) to frame encounters between different characters. Everything is beautifully lit, and the unnerving mood is built through impressive sound design and an edgy musical score. Yet the film is littered with unresolved plot points, while other opportunities (like the ominous-sounding ‘Rebirth Festival’) are squandered. An ending, which delivers some potent visuals but few explanations, compounds the sense of incompleteness.

SO COLD THE RIVER is available now on streaming platforms including Prime