"YellowBrickRoad" DVD Review - Written by Anthony T

YellowBrickRoad
Year: 2011
Directors: Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland
Stars: Michael Laurino, Anessa Ramsay, Cassidy Freeman
Studio: Bloody Disgusting Selects
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 98 Mins

Plot Synopsis:

“YellowBrickRoad” is the second film of Bloody Disgusting “Night Terrors” series. Before being apart of the series, the film had a good festival run. The film played at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival and won Best Horror feature at last year’s NYC Horror Film Festival.

The film is about a group of researchers, who are investigate the mysteries that surrounds the disappearance of entire town of Friar, NH that occurred in 1940. TO find answers, they decide to follow the same path that the doomed citizens took. As they start to find answers, the group begins to hear a mysterious song that plays along the woods. After a day or two, it starts to drive them crazy. Soon, the group loses its way and they slowly begin to lose their sanity. As their food and water supplies starts to dwindle, the group start to turn on each other. Can they find a way out of the woods, before they end up suffering the same fate.

Film Review:

Do you ever get that bad song in your head, where you can’t stand it anymore and had enough. There have been some films, where that same analogy has applied. Thankfully, it doesn't with this film.

“YellowBrickRoad” is a disturbing and shocking film that keeps its edge to the end. First time feature filmmakers, Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland did a very good making this film work on all levels. I liked, how they go for old school horror feel with the way they directed and wrote this film. Compared to films of this caliber, it’s something different that gets you interested with the story. One of the things that they do well here, they go for a stylish approach. Whether if its using slideshows of black and white photos to move the story along or seeing the characters being interviews though the screen of the digital camera, it makes the film interesting and different from most horror films. What also make this film work very well, the fact that the acting makes the material even better. The directors did an excellent job directing the cast. It’s one of those films that has a lot of psychological elements pertaining to the film. You need to have a cast that can handle this. With this film, they have a very good cast that makes the elements in the story work. The directors use that to their advantage and you have a film that in some ways feel like the original version of “The Crazies” and other horror films from the seventies.

The screenplay that Mitton and Holland wrote is also very old school horror. One of things that makes this feel like an old school horror film, the time that they take to develop the characters. I like, how this film starts slow. It allows for character development that is needed to get the viewer to get interested with these characters. The directors develops the characters through their interviews that are conducted during the first third of the film. By doing that, it allows you to get a sense of the characters state of mind and see how they being to lose their sanity. That’s what you want to see, if you have a film with psychological elements. The other thing that I liked about this screenplay, it slowly builds up the tension and disturbing elements. I love films that takes its time and build the tension all the way till its third act. The tension keeps building and building, from the time that the group entered the town to the end of the film. It keeps you interested with the story and makes you want to follow it to its conclusion.

DVD Extras:

Sadly, this film doesn’t have much in the way of extras. The only extra on the DVD was the commentary track from the film’s directors Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland. This was a very interesting commentary track, as this really covers the film’s production. I liked, how the directors spent time talking about the various aspects of shooting and locations. It’s very informative, as it gives you information on how the idea came from some of those scene and the way that they were shot. I like having information about what methods they used to get the full effects of the scene, instead of people joking around. The other good thing about this commentary track is that they go into the directing the performances aspects that were needed to make the character driven aspects of the film work. They do a very good job talking about how they were able getting scenes to work through the dialogue and facial expressions of their actors and actresses. This is one commentary track that worth checking out, if you like this film.

Sadly, that’s the only extra on the DVD. It would have been nice to have some perspective of the story, from the actors and actresses that were involved with the making of the film.

Final Summary:

This is one of those films that should’ve have a better DVD package, than one that’s on this disc. Besides that, I highly recommend you check this film out, if you’re a fan of character driven horror films. “YellowBrickRoad” is very cerebral horror film that focuses on the characters, instead of the violence and gore.

Film Review Rating - 5 Stars

DVD Extras: One and a Half Stars.