![]() ![]() That's not to say that there isn't gore or violence in "YellowBrickRoad". This is a slow-burning psychological horror filled with sights and sounds which get under your skin and worm their way into your brain just as they do with the characters themselves. "YellowBrickRoad" takes its inspiration from some of the classic older horror movies – such as "The Shining", "Deliverance" and the original version of "The Wicker Man" – and, instead of aiming purely for the eyes of the audience, it also aims for the mind. It therefore must involve masked killers or mutated bears, right? Actually, no. This is a movie about a group of people who, whilst following a mysterious trail through the wilderness in search of answers, begin to perish. But what waits for them at the end of the trail - and will they survive to reach it? I know what you're thinking. Many years later, Teddy Barnes and a team of researchers, pathfinders, historians and psychologists decide to follow the same trail and uncover the mystery of what happened in 1940. The corpses of those discovered are the only trace of what might have happened to the people of Friar. In 1940, almost the entire population of a town in New Hampshire mysteriously leave their homes, their belongings and even their pets, and head north along a trail into the dense wilderness. Don't expect your typical horror fare, though, because this is a strangely unique plate that almost borders on experimental. So, if you keep the film within its hallucinatory context of a deconstructed and wholly disturbing reality, you might glean some enjoyment out of it. Yet, I was left with the impression that the semblance of an acid trip was the writers' and director's intention. I guess I wanted a bit more investigation and a bit less acid trip. I love movies with an pseudo-historical backdrop, and I wanted to know more about the town's former inhabitants and the path. ![]() That said, I didn't necessarily find the movie scary, but I did find myself thinking about it for a few days after watching it. The visuals, the characters' reactions, the never-ending path, the hopelessness, the desperation, the cacophonous sounds- all of these things created a unique and subtly terrifying environment. YellowBrickRoad is an assault on the senses, and I believe that was completely intentional. The answer is a resounding 'yes.' This movie really is extremely weird. I was glued to the couch, coughing and hacking, watching this movie and wondering if I was hallucinating, or if the movie was really this freaking weird. ![]() I watched this film when I was sick with bronchitis. ![]()
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