Population 436 January 26, 2007
Posted by ghostof82 in : Film General , trackbackWell, after suffering through THE WICKER MAN remake, this film was a surprise.
Oddly enough it shares many similar themes to that film, with an outsider-protagonist becoming stranded in a strange and foreign society remote from the ‘normal’ world. But unlike THE WICKER MAN remake, this film actually works. Jeremy Sisto gives a fine performance as Steve Kady, a government census-agent who arrives in the remote town of Rockwell Falls to update the government records, to find that in the town records and on every census return the population of the town is reported as 436. For over a hundred years the population has remained the same. The town itself is a quaint slice of rural Americana, the people who live there are nice and homely, but there’s also something odd about it, something just left-of-center, it’s like something out of the Twilight Zone. Everyday seems like Sunday, just a little too easy and perfect. Of course Kady has to learn what the secret of this bizarre place is, and like THE WICKER MAN it involves rituals and a deal with the Devil, and again like THE WICKER MAN, our hero is pulled toward a grisly fate. But I really quite enjoyed this film, and found it a very pleasant surprise having been so annoyed by THE WICKER MAN remake.
The cast are terrific, infact the film demonstrates remarkably successful casting - it shows that good casting can really elevate a picture. Every actor fits his or her character like a glove, and their work benefits the script. Location photography is excellent, it reminded me of WITNESS, blue skies, summer clouds, the grass in the wind. Yeah, it is a rewarding film. The script may not scream originality - there is a distinct sense of deja-vu when watching it - but it is, dare I say it, a nice old-fashioned kind of thriller. There, I said it. Ghostof82 makes no apologies for it, this is a nice 70’s-era kind of film and that’s probably why I enjoyed it so much. Slow-paced, pleasant, a character-based film without need of gore and shocks. It gets a thumbs-up from me. Well worth a rental…
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?