20131126: Horror Review--Munger Road

Munger Road

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2011, rated PG-13, 84 minutes, horror, mystery, thriller.
2. IMDB: 4.4/10.0 from 736 audience ratings.  Estimated budget, 200,000 USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No score yet,' and 45% liked it from 350 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.0/5.0 from 78,488 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Nicholas Smith.
6. Starring: Bruce Davison as Chief Kirkhoven, Randall Batinkoff as Deputy Ross Hendricks, Trevor Morgan as Corey LaFayve, Brooke Peoples as Joe Risk, Hallock Beals as Scott Claussen, Lauren Storm as Rachael Donahue.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Thread 1: Corey, Joe, Scott, and Lauren are out looking for ghosts with baby powder and a very expensive camera.  They get some inconclusive evidence at the Munger Road site where the ghosts are said to hang out.  Then their ride dies from a cracked ignition coil housing.  Scott goes looking for help.  Their cell phones get no signal, and the cell phone clocks are all stopped at 11:14.  Time passes slowly.  Then Corey sends them a picture, then a text, 'Run.'


2. Thread 2: the Chief and Hendricks are looking for an escaped killer, Gunther.  They want him apprehended before the Saint Charles Scarecrow Festival starts.  They capture a copper thief.  While continuing the hunt, they hear that Scott and Corey are missing.  So they start looking for the teenagers.  They find an empty van, because it's blocking a road needed to get the Festival fully setup.  It's empty, and belongs to a woman in town.


3. The Chief and Hendricks look for Gunther in a hotel in town.  The examine tunnels beneath the town, and start thinking that Munger Road is a possibility.  Hendricks and the Chief decide to take separate routes to Munger Road.  The Chief takes a car; Hendricks continues in the tunnel.


4. The teens decide to follow Corey.  Then the film slips (off and on) into found-film mode, with the hand-held being the mode of recording footage.  The Chief finds Joe still alive, and they meetup with Hendricks.


5. Will they recover the others?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Was it ghosts or the escaped convicted murderer?
2. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 6/10 There's a whole lot of dark in this film, particularly in the second half.  Also, the found film segments at the end were not a plus.


2. Sound: 10/10 No problems.


3. Acting: 6/10 One of Bruce Davison's better efforts, and when he's good, he's really good.  The actors who played the teens were good but not great.


4. Screenplay: 6/10 This was as murky as the often dark picture.  The police seemed quite slow at getting to Munger Road (both to find Gunther and to find the teens).  That was odd, since the Chief, anyway, seemed rather bright.