Directors & Writers:  Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton

Cast:  Cassidy Freeman, Anessa Ramsey, Clark Freeman and Lee Wilkof

Rated:  R

Video Review | Rotten Tomatoes | Official Site 

 

“Independent gold”….The words I spoke after my first viewing of this film.  You have to sift through lots of films these days to find gems like this one.  It is nice to see the finished product of filmmakers that are truly devoted to the craft.    Directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton went all in and it paid off big time.  To my knowledge it is both of their feature directorial debuts.  Horror fans paying homage to the genre and at the same time contributing something original as well.   

Storyline Written by Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland: “One Morning in New England, 1940, the entire population of Friar New Hampshire – 572 people – walked together up a winding mountain trail and into the wilderness. They left behind their clothes, their money, all of their essentials. Even their dogs were abandoned, tied to posts and left to starve. No One knows why. A search party dispatched by the U.S. Army eventually discovered the remains of nearly 300 of Friar’s evacuees. Many had frozen to death. Others were cruelly and mysteriously slaughtered. The bodies of the remaining citizens are still unaccounted for. Over the years, a quiet cover-up operation managed to weave the story of Friar into the stuff of legends and backwoods fairy tales. The town has slowly repopulated, but the vast wilderness is mostly untracked, with the northern-most stretches off limits to local hunters and loggers. In 2008, the coordinates for the “YELLOWBRICKROAD” trail head were declassified”

Early on the film has a very somber tone and continues thoughout.  I have read that many had a problem with the ending but I felt it was appropriate.  The tension was so high at the end that any ending would probably feel like a let down.  I felt that the ending was like the cherry on top.

After my first viewing I immediately put the film on again and watched it again.  This is something that I rarely do and can name similar experiences on one hand.  I also listened to the audio commentary after the second viewing.  I would also recommend this if you enjoyed the film.  It really gives you an inside perspective into the production. 

The rating on IMDB is currently 4.5.  I usually do not pay much attention to these ratings and my advice is you shouldn’t either.  My main source for recommendations of films to watch usually comes from my friends and fellow reviewers on YouTube.  It is always nice to hear opinions from people that have nothing to gain from giving honest opinions of films.  I had heard nothing about this film.  I had low expectations as well.   It is released on Bloody Disgusting’s new line of DVDs called “selects.”  The selects line also includes the bizarre Japanese thriller Cold Fish, German Zombie film Rammbock as well as the upcoming Lucky McKee film The Woman.  I would highly recommend these three as well. 

I wanted to also mention that my first attempt to rent this film was unsuccessful because I had apparently gotten the title confused with another film called Yellow Brick Road.  This film is quite different because it is actually a documentary about a group of mentally challenged actors that put on a production of Wizard of Oz.  Not a bad film but drastically different from what I was expecting.  It took me about 5 minutes in to realize my mistake.  Not a total loss but I had to find the film to rent somewhere else.

All in all, I would highly recommend this one to all horror fans.  It will be added to my collection in the very near future.  YellowBrickRoad is a perfect example of what can be accomplished on a low budget.