Directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren. Written by Michael Kingston. Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing
Produced by: Jessika Borsiczky, Kathy Landsberg, Gavin Palone Studio: Columbia Pictures
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462482/trailers
Genre: Drama/Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Tagline: The residents of Rockwell Falls are dying for you to visit...
Plot Outline: A census-taker (Sisto) is sent to investigate why a certain small town has had the same population--436 residents--for the last 100 years.
User Comments: Great little mystery/thriller.
Synopsis: Jeremy Sisto and Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst star in this thrilling story about a U.S. census taker who is assigned to assess the population in a remote mountain community. The census taker becomes trapped in this prison-like town full of 'golden rules' (that no one ever breaks) that doesn't allow its population to drop below or exceed exactly 436 citizens, a number in accordance with 'God's Law.' He eventually learns that NO ONE is ever allowed to leave Rockwell Falls and that the town citizens will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo. After fending off a lobotomy and pretending to go along with the program, the U.S. census taker eventually tries to escape. Will the population finally be altered, or will the story of Rockwell Falls live on? Director/producer of TV's long-running science fiction thriller X-Files, Michelle MacLaren directs this film. The people of Rockwell Falls refer to their town of perfect balance as 'the most perfect place on Earth' - where numbers rule the universe, everybody's watching, divine order is law and God punishes those that are lacking in faith in order to save the people from themselves.
Cast:
David Ames - Ronald Greaver
Leigh Enns - Kathy Most
Susan Kelso - Nurse Greaver
Rick Skene - Ray Jacobs
Fred Durst - Deputy Bobby Caine
David Fox - Dr. Harold James Greaver
Peter Jordan - Minister Hiller
Charlotte Sullivan - Courtney Lovett
RH Thomson - Sheriff Colcutt
Frank Adamson - Mayor Grateman
Reva Timbers - Amanda Jacobs
Monica Parker - Belma
Jeremy Sisto - Steve Kady
Lora Schroeder - Gas station attendant
Winston Sisto - dog
Movie reviews:
Population 436 mixes a little bit of Alfred Hitchcock with a whole lotta Twilight Zone. Despite being a low budget film that didn't have a lot of marketing at its release, I think it was very well done for the genre. Fred Durst gets accolades in this film for a great job as Bobby Caine, a man who becomes Steve's friend and deep down portrays that he really may not want to be there forever either. The DVD has an alternate ending that was also very interesting, although the ultimate outcome portrayed in the final scene of both is haunting. Overall a decent film that holds its strength's more within the plot than anything else.
I was very surprised that this movie did not get a better rating
compared to some similar titles that were very disappointing. Population
436 is a low budget but to its benefit as it doesn't play the usual visual
and audio special effects. Actually, you don't even pay attention as it
doesn't require a high-budget that would have ruined it anyway (i.e. The
Wickerman - 2006).This movie has a good cast, good acting a very subtle
creepiness. You will follow the main character inside a weird, cult
society as with The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, The Wickerman...If you like
the genre you will like Population 436. Give it a try.
Population 436 never manages to become truly suspenseful, and it's certainly not scary, but it is surprisingly effective nonetheless. After the first twenty minutes or so, the pacing of the story is quite good, letting the true nature of this local society emerge gradually, and the acting of the entire cast (even Fred Durst) is another feather in the film's cap. As good as the film's basic concept is, this kind of story could easily have degenerated into something really silly, but director Michelle Maxwell MacLaren never allowed that to happen. I'm not saying that everyone out there would enjoy this film, particularly action-oriented horror fans, but I think a lot of individuals will be pleasantly surprised by it - and that includes young teenagers. For the life of me, I can't figure out why this film has an R rating - there are very few violent scenes (and none of them are the least bit gory), the language is quite pedestrian in nature (all of this takes place in a really gung-ho - albeit cult-based - religious community), and the film's one and only sex scene is tamer than many a scene you'll find on network television.
Rockwell Falls has an unusual method of population control, and a young census bureau employee is about to discover its secret. The journey is really part mystery and part melodrama, with a few supernatural chills thrown in for good measure. The picture does a nice job of setting up the storyline and characters without getting too bogged down in unnecessary side plots. There is little drama associated with the likely outcome of the movie from the outset, but the story is told quite well and the ending is satifying, if not predictable.
Good idea, this movie kind of reminded me of anothe film, Dead and Buried from years ago. A census worker goes into a town to investigate something he stumbled on, the town population of Pleasant Falls has always stayed the same. What he uncovers is a nasty bunch of people who decide they want him to stay and will electroshock him into changing his mind. This movie had an alternate ending that I preferred, but you can't have everything I guess.
Population
436 is not a flawless film by any means. It was a relatively creative idea for a
horror story, with good acting and likeable characters. I found that giving this
film (with the intriguing cover) a chance was well worth the time and a nice
change of pace from the standard low-budget slasher that usually hangs out in
that area of the video store.
"...a cut above the majority of its
direct-to-video brethren." --David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
I
started watching this movie as one of my "luck of the draw" picks, not
expecting much after the never-ending influx of poor crud I get to see all the
time. But this film was good, actually good, and most shockingly: it was good
because of Fred Durst, the frontman for rap-rock group Limp Bizkit.
Durst plays the town police officer, and does such a fine job of being cordial
and friendly in one scene and emotional in another. Who knew he had it in him to
be anything besides violent or obnoxious? Not to downplay Sisto`s part, but
Durst really stole the show with this one.
"Population 436" offers a blend of paranoia, numerology, isolation,
entrapment and a little bit of romance. You won`t get any gore, and you`re not
going to see nude vixens running around. But you will get a unique story. Sure,
you have to ignore the obvious (like why the town is so isolated in 2006) but
that`s not as difficult as you might think because this film makes you want to
believe.Just watch it. Watch what lengths the town will go to in order to keep
its population set firmly at 436. Somewhat bizarre, but completely believable
This is a decent thriller. Lots of tension and unease in the atmosphere, good performances and an interesting plot that loses its step at the climax. Still recommended, though.
Clearly, Population 436 succeeds because it exploits the anxieties and fears that characterize our post 9/11 world. At its core, this film presents a metaphor for the American military campaigns in Asia, and the xenophobia for anything that does not accommodate our Western values. As Population 436 illustrates, there is no longer a need for supernatural or alien monsters: human beings with somewhat different beliefs and upbringings are enough to frighten us to death.