|
The story of the Donner Party could be a relatively unique and fresh twist to
the world of horror movies. If it’s pulled off correctly, it would be one hell of a story.
Donner Pass was a respectable attempt, but it didn’t quite hit the spot for me.
A
group of sexually driven teenagers visit a cabin in northern Sierra Nevada – the same desolated location where the ravenous
Donner Party tragedy perished in the mid 1800’s. These teens eventually find out that there is much
more to that story that has never been told.
Donner Pass attempts to take a true event
and give it a slight horror twist. The attempt is appreciated, but it would have been better if they had
made the entire movie about Donner himself. But instead we are given short glimpses in the opening sequence.
This was a lower budget horror movie, but to be honest – it looked
great. I only saw one minor flaw when a camera crew is seen in the reflection of a parked vehicle.
But other than that – the film looked like a high dollar Hollywood movie. The actors even
surpassed my expectations – not all of them, but most of the actors were surprisingly good and surprisingly enjoyable.
(the least enjoyable actors were killed off early in the film)
Even the special effects
were great and effective. Although I would have enjoyed a little more – it needed more gore and more
scares to really call this a horror movie. The movie was more of a tease – all building up to the
last thirty minutes of the film. That’s when the special effects really kicked in. And
it worked.
The Bottom Line: Donner Pass wasn’t half bad. The
acting was enjoyable, the gore looked great, but --- the material that it is based upon could have been stronger.
I like the idea of them building an urban legend around the Donner Party, but at least build a stronger one.
Maybe base the entire movie in the 1800’s – when it really happened. And the movie was
a bit slow and drawn out – it needed a few more scares.
|
