The River Wild, an Action Suspense Thriller from 1994

We've noticed that several of the studios have been uploading trailers of their older films to their YouTube channels. We've seen most of the films that fall into the mystery, suspense, and thriller — and often action — categories. And those we haven't seen we've at least heard of. But occasionally one surprises us, like it did today.

The River Wild came out in 1994 and boasted a pretty impressive cast, led by Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon. It was directed by Curtis Hanson — who went on to win an Academy Award the following year for writing L.A. Confidential, which he also directed — from an original screenplay by Denis O'Neill. And yet somehow we missed it at the time … and have to confess didn't even know existed before today. Here's the synopsis:

What was already a turbulent family vacation turns deadly when a fugitive (Kevin Bacon) and his crew kidnap river rafting guide Gail (Meryl Streep), her husband Tom (David Strathairn) and their son. As they steer toward a series of dangerous rapids, the criminals force Gail to abandon Tom, who immediately embarks on a courageous mission to save his family.

We've added it to our Netflix queue, but it's also available on DVD, Blu-ray disc, iTunes, and Amazon Instant.