YellowBrickRoad (2010)

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.

Directors:

Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton

Writers:

Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton

Stars:

Cassidy Freeman, Anessa Ramsey, Clark Freeman

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Cassidy Freeman	...	Erin Luger
Anessa Ramsey	...	Melissa Barnes
Clark Freeman	...	Daryl Luger
Lee Wilkof	...	Clerk / Usher
Laura Heisler	...	Liv McCann
Alex Draper	...	Walter Myrick
Michael Laurino	...	Teddy Barnes
Tara Giordano	...	Jill
Sam Elmore	...	Cy Banbridge

Storyline

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. The first official expedition into a dark and twisted wilderness ...

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Plot Keywords:

new hampshire | 1940s | new england | stabbed in the throat | madness | 

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Taglines:

They were searching for an evil in the forest. . .but the forest found the evil in them.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content, language, some sexuality and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le Chemin Sans Retour

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Points North Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the cast and crew began experiencing vivid nightmares starting on the second week of filming.

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Quotes

Melissa Barnes: Are you going to kill me now? Here?
Daryl Luger: Yes.
Melissa Barnes: Does there have to be so much pain?
Daryl Luger: Yes.

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Connections

References A Cry in the Dark (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Cour Poursuite"
Written by John Etheridge
Performed by John Etheridge

User Reviews

If you go down to the woods today...

In 1940, the residents of a sleepy New England town walked along a trail called Yellowbrick Road, leaving behind their possessions. Some were found frozen, others mysteriously and horribly mutilated. There was one survivor. 70 Years later and the documents surrounding the case have been declassified. Armed with the case files, a crew of nine civilians resolve to set out along the trail, to find out what happened to the earlier inhabitants once and for all...

YellowBrickRoad has a GREAT concept and tries to put an innovative spin on the lost in the forest "subgenre". (if such a thing exists). Part mockumentary, part straight horror, it's certainly ambitious.

However, I gotta say... I just plain hated this film. I thought the execution sucked, and found it nonsensical, boring, unscary, frustrating and very very annoying. It has an "assault on the senses" segment, as noted by another reviewer on this page, that literally had me gritting my teeth, and I personally wondered if they put it in to prevent me falling asleep from boredom, as it's a very jarring sequence. It also has an unintentionally hilarious reaction from the performers, who act like the crew of the original Star Trek when hit by a Klingon torpedo or something. The conclusion is jaw droppingly ludicrous, weak and feels tacked on for the sake of it. It would be right at home on a Scary Door episode from Futurama, it's that ridiculous and silly.

So, yeah... I really disliked it and found it an incoherent mess and a very disappointing film.

BUT... I'm in the severe minority here, apparently. I caught this at Dead By Dawn 2011 and it went down quite well with the audience, with most seeming to love it, or at least like it, including the party I went with. (I was the one dissenter in our group) So, based on the audience reaction, I'm gonna say that this is very much a personal opinion here. It's basically kinda similar to Session 9, (in terms of atmosphere) only in a forest, and I'm one of the apparently few horror fans who was totally non-plussed by Session 9, while most like that one also, so anyone who likes Session 9, should like this.

3/10 from me. It just thoroughly annoyed and bored me from start to finish. That having said, based on audience reaction at Dead By Dawn, I'm actually gonna recommend fans to check it out, as it'll probably go down quite well with you. Just wasn't my cuppa tea at all though.