A crime feature starring Tiffany Haddish is set to make a splash in theaters.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired The Girl in the River and will release the thriller in theaters and on digital platforms Sept. 4, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Maggie Grace, Devon Sawa and Ralph Macchio round out the cast for writer-director Brando Benetton’s movie.
The Girl in the River centers on an experienced criminologist and a young psychologist who head to a small Mississippi town after a girl is murdered and her twin sister goes missing.
“I know you want to retire, but yesterday, two twin sisters disappeared,” Haddish says in the trailer. “Their father — his political authority is absolute. We’ve already found the body. If we don’t find her sister in the next 24 hours, she won’t be back at all.”
Later, Sawa laments the challenges inherent with the crime. “We have too many leads, no real suspects,” he says in the footage. He goes on to add, “Just because you think someone’s a killer doesn’t mean they are one.”
The trailer ends with Haddish declaring, “You’re not ready to confront what real evil looks like.”

Devon Sawa (left) and Maggie Grace in The Girl in the River.
Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
Brando Benetton helmed the project from his own script. Joe Lemmon and Andrew Stevens serve as producers for the indie film.
Executive producers include Hicham Benkirane, Alan B. Bursteen, Dawn Bursteen, Rick Moore, Alessandro Penazzi, Jeff Roschman and Sam Stevens.
Haddish’s latest feature credits include Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Haunted Mansion, Easter Sunday and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

The poster for The Girl in the River.
Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
