The River Wild 2023 Ending Explained | Recap Review | Thriller Movie Breakdown
Today I am going to explain and recap a recently released movie called The River Wild. It is loosely based on the 1994 movie of the same name. The movie opens with a girl by the name of Joey who is heading towards her brother Grey's rafting rental camp. She was a doctor and was estranged from him for quite some time. At the camp, Grey welcomes her as he is getting ready for a day of river rafting with two British tourists. Karrisa and Van. Here another guy by the name of Trevor was also joining them which was a surprise to Joe. Trevor was Joey and Gray's childhood friend and these three grew up together. Joey was certainly displeased seeing Trevor here as it seemed she had a history with him. But she pretends as if everything is ok.
Now all these five guys raft on the river all afternoon and enjoy the rafting. Joey was on the river after many years yet she still had the skills. She was the first one to fall into the water. For the night these guys camp at a place and start building the tent. Grey hands over a spy to Karrisa for safety while she goes for a loo break. Later all gather around the fire to share stories with drinks. Joey here talks about her boyfriend Doctor who was tall and cute. Karrisa and Van shares their experience in Puerto Rico. After some time Joey retires to her tent while Van heads in the dark to take a leak. Later everyone heard the screams of Van from the bushes. As Joey, Grey, and Karrisa rushed to the scene, Van was lying on the ground and bleeding from the head. Trevor was the first to reach the scene as he was coming from his leak break. He says she must have tripped and fell because of drinks.
Goey and Karrisa lifted Van slowly while Grey ordered Trevor to bring a first aid kit and satellite phones. Van for feeling bad as it was a skull fracture. She tells Karrisa and Joey that Trevor grabbed her. He attempted to impose herself on her. Trevor here brings the first aid kit which helps in stopping the bleeding for now. Joey here lies about Van having only two hours to save her as she wanted immediate hospitalization. She was sure if it was Trevor he would do anything to stop them. He was a felon and spent time in jail. The nearest ranger station was half a day hike away while on the river they could reach early. The satellite phones were dud as they had run out of battery. With no option, these guys decide to raft on the river in the dark to save Van.
After an hour or so on the water Van started seizing. Joey somehow stabilised her on the raft but the time was running out. These guys started rafting fast but it was dark. The river flow was high and mighty as well. Soon around a curve the raft flipped and everyone fell into the water. Joey caught Van and dragged her to the shore where she was not breathing. She started emergency CPR to expel water from her. Karrisa was dragged along the flow and she was barely hanging to a stone. Trevor and Grey were okay as well, Trevor rescued Karrisa and Grey dragged the raft to the shore. Joey successfully rescued Van but she was horrified. She confronted Grey by saying it was Trevor. She accused her of intentionally flipping the boat to save his ass. She told him about the accusation but Grey didn't take it seriously.
Trevor saw these two talking. Time was of the essence here hence these guys quickly arranged the raft and continued on the river. They reached the station place in the wee hours.
Grey and Trevor ran towards the station to call it in but midway Trevor stopped Grey. He was terrified, he told Grey that it was not him. He did nothing wrong, it was all an accident. He was a felon on probation and didn't want another incident on his record. He asks Grey to back him up as it was for him he went to jail in the first place. Grey assured him that he had his back. As these two rushed to the station the ranger was not there. He arrived after some time. Upon knowing the situation he started calling for help but Trevor stopped him midway.
He proposed to take Van to the nearest hospital in his wan instead of waiting for help. It was against the protocol as the air ambulance was always on standby for emergencies. Trevor aggressively started stopping the ranger as he believed it would impact his and Grey's ratings. He and the ranger started physically fighting over this, where the ranger pulled the gun on him. Grey was shocked seeing this, he tried calming him down but Trevor was in no mood. The fight turned nasty with Trevor accidentally stabbed him to death. He realized his mistake but it was too late. He tried to commit suicide as two crime charge was on his head. But somehow felt short of it. He now decides to escape to Canada.
He quickly grabbed the gun and pointed it toward Grey. He forced him to shift the ranger's body to his wan and then pushed it into the ditch to show it as an accident. At gunpoint, he took Grey to the raft, and all three there as hostages. Joey and Karrisa were shocked seeing this but Grey had no option. This means Van will not get medical attention and she will die soon. Trevor's plan was to row through the river and reach Canada. The river flow was turbulent down the stream hence he needed more hands to row fast. As these guys started rowing again, Van died peacefully after some time. Soon these guys reached a bridge where a hiker was walking. Joey smartly used her mirror's reflection to his attention so that he could help. His name was Max, and he enquired about the situation and offered help. But Trevor refused it by saying they were good.
He somehow managed to convince him but deep down he knew he was in trouble. As Max could see a dead girl clearly. He ordered all of them to row fast as he wanted to cross the border today itself. Grey opposed this idea as downstream the water current was heavy, they needed rest, and Van's burial was of utmost importance. Trevor agreed and these guys buried Van. Karrisa was crying all along as it was her plan to go rafting. While heading back Trevor tells Grey's dirty secrets to Joey. Grey was running a successful drug business, but he got nabbed for petty crime. Trevor took the blame on himself and went to jail to save Grey's ass. The money Grey was pulling was huge and he was like brother to him. He had no family other than these two. This was shocking news to Joey.
At night, Trevor ties these guys' hands to a tree while allowing them to sleep. Joey confronts Grey about his business to which he says he was not in his right mind. He was an alcoholic back then and did many horrible things. He was truly sorry about that and didn't approve of what Trevor was doing right now. Joey tells him how he let Trevor molest her when she was fifteen which was a shock to him. He thought these two were together. He promised her that this time he would help her. Soon Max appeared from the dark as he was following these guys all day along. He suspected Trevor all along.
He first tried to snatch the gun from Trevor's hand who appeared in deep sleep. Since the grip was strong he switched the idea to untie Joey and Grey with his knife. As he was doing it suddenly Trevor shot him from behind and killed him. He started screaming violently and thought it was all Joey's plan. He was about to shoot her but Grey stopped him, Joey was needed to row the boat. The next morning these guys bury Max while Karrisa sneakily hides Max's knife. While on the river after some time she shows the knife to Joey and manages to poke a hole into the raft which starts leaking.
Trevor suspects Karrisa but she denies it. To repair this leak these guys came to the shore. Here finally Grey attacked Trevor on the pretext of patching the leak. Joey started cutting Karrisa's rope and told her to run like a Usain bolt. Karrisa did that and soon Joey followed her. Grey bought her some time by fighting but soon he got shot. In the woods, Karrisa and Joey got separated, Trevor started chasing Joey who jumped from a cliff into the water. Trevor shot her from above yet she survived. later she swam towards Grey, placed him inside the raft, and left the place. Trevor had shot him. Trevor was left behind while Joey was rafting like hell.
After some time Trevor saw two lone rafters rafting and asked for help. He killed them, took their rat, and started chasing Joey. Joey and Grey were at the tip of the biggest waterfall where Joey was not at all qualified to raft. She puts a helmet on to his head and tries her best to do the job but both get swamped. Here she somehow manages to save him and brings him to the shore. Grey was bleeding heavily, and before she could stop Trevor attacked her from behind. He removes his knife to stab her. With no option available Grey sacrifices his life by grabbing him from behind and jumps off the cliff to his and Trevor's death. Joey saw all this in pain as she too was injured severely. In the end, Karrisa returns with the rescue team who rescues Joey. So this was the ending of the river wild. Joey was estranged from her brother for many months, she wanted to make things right with him.
As he was the only family she had. During her teen years, she ran from him for his criminal doings which Grey acknowledged. Grey changed himself, became sober, and was eager to lead a normal relationship with her. When in trouble he atoned for his crimes by saving her. Trevor was in a rabbit hole of crimes from which seldom people come out. This is an average movie one can certainly enjoy. Hope you liked this video. Please subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching.
