SWEET RIVER

Sweet River is an Australian psychological thriller released on Netflix in Australia and New Zealand on 5 December 2020.

In the haunting Sweet River, Hana (played by British actress Lisa Kay, who has appeared on TV’s Heartbeat, Vera, DCI Banks and Indian Summers, and now calls Australia home with roles on Neighbours and Home And Away) returns to the sleepy town of Billins, nestled deep in the sugar cane fields, where her 4-year-old son Joey was abducted by notorious serial killer Simpkins (Jack Ellis), and is now presumed dead.

On hearing the news that Simpkins had died and her son’s DNA was found on his property, the emotionally damaged Hana rents a small farmhouse in the valley near to where Simpkins lived and mounts her own investigation.

Her next-door neighbours, John (Martin Sacks) and Elenore Drake (Genevieve Lemon), own the surrounding cane fields. John and Elenore are strangely cold and distant, and the townsfolk are also hostile, viewing Hana as a meddling outsider disturbing their tightly knit farming community. This town has its secrets and a gaping, horrific wound that will not heal: several years earlier, a local school bus mysteriously ran off the road and into a river, with all the children on-board perishing in its icy waters.

When Hana starts to see mysterious children in the town’s eerily rolling fields, her emotional state fragments even further. But Hana’s obsession to uncover the truth also starts to reveal the town’s darkest secrets…secrets that both the living and the dead will fight to protect.

Boasting an overpowering sense of tension and a narrative that draws you in with quiet but undeniable force, Sweet River (which also stars Chris Haywood, Rob Carlton, Eddie Baroo, Sam Parsonson, Bryan Roberts and Jeremy Waters) is a powerful exercise in high-concept local edge-of-your-seat thrillers.

Sweet River reached the top 10 Netflix chart within the first week of release.

Examples of media coverage:
The Latch, Urban List, Impulse Gamer, Today Extra

Although the lead-time was tight, I was able to achieve national TV placement on channel nine’s Today Extra and via online publications covering film, gaming and entertainment news.

It is noted that online publications that skewed towards the younger demographic were also interested in Sweet River due to the ‘horror’ angle such as; Urban List, Impulse Gamer and The Latch.

Radio was the main medium to communicate the Sweet River’s launch date due to the short lead deadline. Coverage was achieved on Melbourne’s 3AW and 96FM in Perth. Interviews were also secured on local ABC Radio programs and local news publications that had a connection to the location, cast and crew. 

From an industry angle, IF Magazine supported the film with an interview and promoted the trailer launch. Community radio and podcast film programs also supported Sweet River; such as Northside Radio, Curtin FM, and Matt’s Movie Reviews.