Munger Road and Comparisons: A Movie Review

Director/writer: Nicholas Smith.

Cast: Bruce Davison, Randall Batinkoff, Trevor Morgan, Brooke Peoples, Hallock Beals,
Lauren Storm and Art Fox.

Munger Road is an indie production from first time director Nicholas Smith. The film follows four college students as they try to frighten themselves on or near Halloween. Much of the film takes place during nighttime and the film is effective in creating suspense. Munger Road is also an homage to John Carpenter's Halloween for a variety of reasons. The Halloween settings, escaped killer and a character of authority acting as both a narrator and an investigator make this film almost a direct homage to this earlier horror classic.

The film's story begins with four college students: Corey (Trevor Morgan), Joe (Brooke Peoples), Scott (Hallock Beals) and Rachael (Lauren Storm). They are heading out on a double date to a local set of train tracks. It was here that a tragedy occurred. A train collided with a school bus full of children. It is said that their ghosts now haunt a certain railroad crossing. Some supernatural elements take place, but an escaped killer offers a greater threat. A few horror cliches keep the students stranded, while the body count increases over time.

An eerie yellow glow haunts many scenes.

The comparisons to Halloween begin early. Both Michael Myers and the killer here, named Guenther, have escaped a nearby institution and they are both heading home. Except, here Guenther does not make it back due to a tractor trailer accident. Either way, both psychopaths have unfinished business to settle at their original killing grounds. As well, Bruce Davison plays Chief Kirkhoven; he is the Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) of the film. Kirhoven relates past events, which involve stories of murder as the film progresses. Loomis also acted as the narrator in the 1978 film, while relating Myers' past misdeeds. Both films take place in October during a Fall festival. Halloween seems to offer the chance for evil in these two films. Events also take place over a short span of time, about twenty-four hours. This short duration of time creates more excitement with both films focusing on the present rather than past or future events. There are no flashbacks or flashforwards. The similarities between Munger Road and Halloween are many.

During those twenty-four hours, much of Munger Road takes place at night and the lighting in this picture is effective in creating suspense. Director Nicholas Smith does an excellent job of utilizing darkness to hide events and characters from the viewer. It is sometimes hard to tell who is who, especially when the screen is entirely black in some spots. Other shots use light on reflective surfaces to show the surrounding environments, creatively. Scenes with main characters are given enough light to show emotion. This is not an easy task with night shoots the most difficult to capture on film. The lighting in this indie picture was one of the best film elements from the picture.

Other film elements from the film's story, to acting, and settings, along with the film's score are a little more ambivalent. Bruce Davison gives a great performance here as he often does. Other characters are believable, but few standout as much as Davison. The settings are diverse. Characters travel isolated roads to dilapidated farmhouses. Constables explore abandoned homes and underground tunnels. Many of the settings are interesting to view. Only one locale fails to impress. There are far too many shots of a broken down van. These interior shots become repetitive over time. This film introduces a great and chilly score with sound effects creating much of the tension. Overall, Munger Road gets many more elements right than it does wrong.

Munger Road is set up in such a way as to introduce a sequel. So, some horror fans might not like this open ending approach to filmmaking. Few answers are offered in the final few frames. However, this title offers a lot of suspense. While there are a few horror tropes to be found here, there is enough mystery to keep events interesting. And, Munger Road is recommended for horror fans looking for something well off the beaten path.

Overall: 7.25 out of 10 (an homage to horror films of the past, solid acting, good settings, great use of light and darkness, an excellent score, open ending).

*Munger Road released on DVD and video-on-demand September 11th.

**this title has received poor reviews from many other sites.

The film's fan page is found here:

Munger Road on Facebook

 |  |  | 

Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA

Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis Email Subscription

Posted in: 2012,2012 release,bruce davison,festival,halloween,indie,movie review,release date,serial killer