Sunset on the River Styx

This film essentially begins with a bus driver by the name of "Will" (Phillip Andre Botello) becoming bored and depressed from his day-to-day routine. So much so, that he even contemplates suicide. Then one day he strikes up a conversation with an equally bored and lonely woman by the name of "Ashe" (Jacqueline Jandrell) and they become friends and lovers. However, much to Will's dismay, she soon loses interest in him and becomes fascinated by another young man by the name of Wreck" (Cory Vaughn) instead. So, upon discovering that Ashe has found someone new, Will crashes a party that Wreck is hosting and this causes problems for everyone involved. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that, after reading an earlier review, I had a suspicion that this film might not be too entertaining--but since I really like vampire movies, I decided to give it a try just in case. Well, after wasting about 94 minutes, I can pretty much concur with the previous reviewer. This was a boring movie. Admittedly, the idea of exploring the transformation from human to vampire seems quite interesting. Unfortunately, the director (Aaron Pagniano) clearly had no idea about how to take advantage of this concept as this film adds nothing to the existing vampire lore. Quite the contrary, as the pacing is so slow and the characters much too uninteresting for anything to be achieved at all. That being said, there really isn't much to this movie to get excited about and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

This is a fun and surreal vampire film, inventive and lofi in a fun indie way. There's some really great trippy sequences with sharp cinematography and editing that keep you anchored even though some crazy shit is going down! Excited to see what this director does next.

More like boredom on the River Styx. Man, talk about a swing and a miss. When I sat down to watch the 2020 movie "Sunset on the River Styx", I was expecting to watch an interesting vampire movie, as I had shuffled through a handful of reviews that praised writer and director Aaron Paganiano's 2020 movie to high heaven. But yeah, of course everything is relative and individual taste and preference, of course, because "Sunset on the River Styx" offered me no entertainment. The storyline told in "Sunset on the River Styx", as written by Aaron Pagniano, was incredibly slow paced and monotonous, with nothing interesting happening, aside from random flashes of strange imagery. Nay, this was not really an enjoyable vampire tale, instead it was an insight into the mundane and routine-taxed everyday lives of Will (played by Phillip Andre Botello) and Ashe (played by Jacqueline Jandrell). Now, the movie would have been a lot more watchable if it had a proper storyline and script, of course, but even having interesting performances would also spruce up the movie. But sadly, then the performances in "Sunset on the River Styx" were plagued and restrained by the utter lack of a proper script and storyline. So don't expect to be in for a Shakespearian performance here. For a vampire movie then "Sunset on the River Styx" was insanely weak and watered down. Yeah, no thick blood here - pardon the pun. And calling this a vampire movie might actually be stretching the term quite a bit. I found no enjoyment or entertainment in "Sunset on the River Styx". In fact, I was so bored with the pointless and laughably bad script and storyline that I gave up on the movie at the halfway marker. I just couldn't keep wasting away my life on something as poorly written and devoid of entertainment as "Sunset on the River Styx" was. My rating of "Sunset on the River Styx" lands on a generous two out of ten stars, and that is based on the production value.

Sunset on the River Styx is a beautifully shot character study set in an exstitential headspace. This movie uses new and innovative cinematography to play with the idea of perspective. The characters in the film share a relationship together and yet could not be having more different experiences within the confines of their relationship. The expert cinematography of Sunset on the River Styx conveys the characters highs and lows beautifully. Every shot of these movie is beautiful to look at. The writing is heavily existential and tackles the feeling of insignificance every human being has felt before. Ultimately, Sunset on River Styx is an innovative look at perspective and existential dread. It's story of breaking free of our mundane routines to find a larger purpose is one that is sure to speak to people.

Right off the bat this movie had me intrigued, I loved Will and his life was very relatable. Then the focus shifted on the girl and it got dull and boring FAST! Her life was not as interesting. This would have made for a great rom/com. The leads played well off one another. The whole story seemed like it was a blog of unoriginal ideas balled into one. Not worth watching unless your like me and nothing else is on. I do not recommend if you enjoy Vampire movies. A better B movie is Blood Punch on Tubi.

Different take on vampire movies. Not the biggest vampire movie fan but also never seen a take on the actual transformation from mortal to vampire like this film does. Very enticing, story gets you hooked to see what happens next, and what happens next is a trippy ass ride down the rabbit hole of the undead. Awesome editing and effects make this a wild ride I was glad I took. Very well acted, directed and written.

Cool take on a vampire film. I feel like I haven't seen any films that tackle more of the mind/cerebral aspects of vampire transformation, rather than just physical. It's heady, and more of an experience than linear. But it's great if you're into that! If you're looking for Twilight, don't bother.

Great chemistry between the two leads! This is an indie horror movie that manages to scare you AND hook you in with the characters and the romance. It deftly blends tones and has a cool, never before seen setting with exciting vampire lore. Also, some trippy, mind-blowing sequences toward the end that had me on the edge of my seat. Will never see vampires the same way again! Highly recommend.

Beautifully shot and masterfully edited, River Styx is a unique indie horror with twists you wouldn't expect and a story that will satisfy all the lost souls who are beckoned to watch it. Aaron Pagniano directs a story that would fail is less capable hands and it was astounding all that was accomplished given the limited resources of the crew.

Trailer—Sunset on the River Styx