THE PLOT THUS FAR
1940: the entire population of Friar, New Hampshire walked up a winding mountain trail, leaving everything behind. 2008: the first official expedition into the wilderness attempts to solve the mystery of the lost citizens of Friar.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
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. The corpses of those discovered are the only trace of what might have happened to the people of Friar. 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 trouble is the film swerves into even stranger territory once the bodies start piling up and the film deteriorates despite the fact that there are some truly amazing sequences. The film, like the films it echoes simply gets to a point where the weirdness can’t be sustained, partly because it looses internal logic and partly because it becomes clear it has no way to bring it all together in an ending that works. Worse the film splits the group up into parts and the further fractures of the plot line weaken things further.
The DVD comes with a director’s commentary as its sole special feature. The A/V Quality is strong enough for indie horror, but it lacks any real definition. That being said the Dolby Surround mix will make every jump pop out of the audio table at you. It’s quite an impressive setup for a film like this. I’d recommend a rental.
RELEASE DATE: 08/02/2011
