Population 436 explores what a Twilight Zone movie would look like if it had a television or direct to video release today when Jeremy Sisto plays a census-taker that investigates a town that has had the same population for almost a century. Worse yet, Fred Durst is the deputee.
Alright, so it's a little trendy to trash Durst, forgive me. The premise of the movie is quite simple. Rockwell Falls has had a population of 436 for close to a century so (finally) somebody is sent to investigate. The new-comer (Jeremy Sisto) Steve Kady stirs things up as he throws off the population to 437. The deputee of the town (Fred Durst) sticks close to Kady to disarm the intruder of any suspicion until they're able to secure Kady as part of their population so the rest of the outside world won't know the secrets of this eerily 'perfect' town.
Let's get right down to it, shall we? Population 436 is not a bad flick for a direct to video release. Jeremy Sisto has always been a fascinating actor to watch from day one and the same rings true here. He's always so deep yet natural. Cautious yet open and comical with a dry charm. The only fault to his character wasn't in the acting, but in the script. It takes many-a-incident to make his character really start to go ape over what's going on around him in Rockwell Falls. It almost dumbs down his character. Fred Durst even portrays his character quite well. It's nowhere near on par with the acting of Sisto, but Durst plays a man who is kind in a creepy way, with much to hide behind his sweet, yet vacant expressions.
The movie was pretty predictable and the ending felt as if they didn't know where else to go with it.
The way the movie was directed, the shots that we see throughout the film... all marvelous. The DVD has a fantastic transfer, especially for such a low key release. Blacks are dark and debatebly are better than they were on the mainstream 'Silent Hill' DVD release. Colors are nice and the image is pretty sharp.
Overall it's an alright flick. More of a mystery/suspense thriller than horror, it's a 6/10 in my book, and for a DTV release it's not all that bad. If you're a real fan of Sisto's acting this would be a must have for you, but for most this is probably a rental at best.
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