Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers (2026) Review
Director: Ben Masters
With: Ethan Hawke
Running time: 83 mins
Written and directed by trained cinematographer Ben Masters, this engaging eco-doc is a follow-up to 2022’s Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story. As such, it’s a beautifully shot exploration of numerous Texan rivers, focusing on the wildlife that they sustain.
Narrated by Texan born actor Ethan Hawke (Texan born actor Matthew McConaughey narrated the first film), the film details various rivers in Texas, describing them as “arteries that deliver life and nourish ecosystems.” It begins with the Colorado river, with Hawke romanticising throughout, noting that “every bend tells a story”.
One such story involves the remarkable cave paintings along the banks of the Pecos and Devils rivers, which include murals that are hundreds of feet long and several storeys high. These are fascinating and it’s a shame that the film doesn’t spend slightly more time on them.
The doc’s primary concern is the wildlife. A lengthy section is devoted to mountain lions, which Texans are attempting to conserve. The film zeros in on a mother and her “kittens” (they look pretty grown up) as they hunt aoudad, a relative of goats and antelopes, with heat-signature cameras tracking their progress. As the kittens prove pretty poor hunters, Hawke wryly notes that most hunts end in failure, before cutting to the mother taking “a nice long catnap”.
The film’s highlight is an extended sequence on wild turkey mating rituals on the banks of the Canadian river, with Hawke going full Attenborough as he describes the lengths male turkeys go to in order to attract a mate, noting their “rather peculiar beauty standards.”
Additional sections focus on the San Antonio dam (built jn 1745 by Spanish missionaries) and an imminent disaster resulting from falling water tables, as a direct result of landowners being allowed to take as much water as they like from their property. This is where the film’s eco-doc credentials kick in, because it predicts an imminent disaster, pointing out that water tables have fallen across the state, and that ground water conservation districts are not currently required to protect springs – the hope is that the film will persuade people to put pressure on their political representatives.
The most intriguing section of the film takes a look at what it calls “Tornado Alley”, and gives details – accompanied by extraordinary storm images – of some of the worst weather-related disasters in the region, most notably the port of Galveston in 1900, where there was a hurricane, resulting in a 15ft storm surge, which claimed the lives of 10,000 people and remains the deadliest weather event in US history
On a similar note, as recently as July 3rd 2025, 10 inches of rain fell in less than an hour, causing the Guadalupe River to rise 40 ft, with devastation spread over 100s of yards, resulting in over 100 deaths.
The final part of the film ends on a happier note, noting that otters are making a comeback and detailing their cute activities with the use of infra-red cameras. There are also some fun otter facts, like the fact that they communicate with scent.
In short, this is an engaging and beautifully shot eco-doc, given a small but signficant lift by the dulcet tones of Ethan Hawke. Here’s hoping the film plays a part in averting its predicted imminent disaster.
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