Yellow Brick Road

There are times when I ask myself why do I keep watching horror films. Statistically, a horror film is most likely to be of low quality. Even those that are passable are often just bland repeats of old ideas. Why bother?

Because every now and then, something different pops up. Now I'm not claiming original, there are only so many stories in the world. But then there are only a limited number of notes to music, but when a good jazz player starts to improvise magic happens. I would say "Yellow Brick Road," is my magic for the month and it keeps me happily watching these movies hoping for more.

The story is simple, in the 1940's an entire town walked up a back wood trail and disappeared. Well, they didn't all disappear. Some were found frozen. Some were found dead and mutilated. Most though just vanished. A team of researchers decide to find and follow the trail themselves. Bad. Things. Happen.

Here, the film resembles the Blair Witch in a lot of ways, though thankfully it didn't try to pretend to be all documentary footage.  What makes it different and scary are the "grace notes," those little bits of weirdness that while not necessary to the plot make all the difference.  For example, after awhile they start hearing swing music as they travel through the woods.  Now swing music is upbeat and happy, but if you are walking in the middle of nowhere it becomes pretty spooky.  Five days of it, and it becomes maddening.  There's very much of a lovecraftian undertone to the whole film.  There is no visible threat.  It's the woods.  It's the music.  It's walking day after day.  It's  realizing that space is not working the way it should.  There is no monsters, but the road makes its own monsters out of those who walk it.

Definitely an interesting film!