Riverworld

Riverworld is a science fiction television film about Jeff Hale, an American astronaut who dies in space and wakes up underwater in a strange chamber. He surfaces in an unfamiliar landscape dominated by an enormous river stretching to the horizon, where he finds himself among crowds of people from many different periods of Earth's history, all apparently resurrected after death. As survivors organise themselves into rival groups and violent struggles break out, Hale learns that this world is controlled by unknown forces, and he becomes drawn into efforts to confront whoever created and runs it.

The film is based on the Riverworld books by Philip José Farmer. It was directed by Kari Skogland, its fourth feature after Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return, Zebra Lounge and Liberty Stands Still. The screenplay is by Stuart Hazeldine, and the cast includes Brad Johnson as Hale, Karen Holness, Kevin Smith, Cameron Daddo, Jonathan Cake and Emily Lloyd. It was made for television in Canada by Alliance Atlantis, Sci Fi Pictures and Box TV, and runs 86 minutes.

Audience reaction has been mixed: on IMDb it holds a rating of 5.1 from around 2,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 4.5 from a much smaller number of votes. The low scores and modest vote counts point to a film that found a limited audience and drew only moderate approval from those who saw it.