R for violence, scarey images, themes of the occult, and brief nudity/sexuality
DANGER: TURN BACK!!! SPOILERS!!!
POPULATION/436 is an EXTREMELY thought-provoking and challenging film in the unfortunate disguise of the average direct-to-video flick. I have spent an entire day watching and rewatching 436 to discover that not only do I truly love this movie, there are things about it that kind of nag me. Upon watching it the 4th and 5th times, I decided that no, it's not a completely PERFECT film as I may have let on earlier, in my initial review. I tend to add more thoughts as I see more things in films. But I still REALLY have fun watching this one.
Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto) works for the Census Bureau in Chicago. He is sent out to a tiny southern Illinois town (when the film first came out, there were numerous sites that said Rockwell Falls was in Colorado, but it makes more sense that the town was in Illinois) to find out why their population has remained a constant 436 persons for the past century.
And he thought the hardest thing about this assignment would be the long drive. Some viewers might muse that once Kady found only country and bluegrass on the radio, and especially once he is refused help when asking for directions, he should have known evil things were in store.
Nestled in the bluegrass hills of southern Illinois is Rockwell Falls. After being treated rather strangely at a ma and pa gas station not far from his intended destination, Kady spots a girl being tossed off her horse and ends up hitting a bad pothole and getting 2 flat tires. The incredibly pretty auburn haired young woman seems rather cool as she sternly tells Steve that he ought to hoof it back to Bromine, 50 miles back the way he came, rather than seek help in her town of Rockwell Falls. But even while he's pondering her strange behavior, the local deputy (Fred Durst) comes driving up and after HE behaves a bit oddly, gives Kady a huge grin and promises his car will be fixed while he completes his Census task.
Steve is immediately welcomed into this picturesque little village, whose rural charm is assisted by beautiful cinematography...breezes ruffling tree tops, peacefully clucking chickens, horses and geese; it is a town which appears stuck in yesteryear, complete with rustic log cabins and antique furnishings (including black rotary phones). Big City Steve is enchanted by this town, which reminds me very much of DeSmet, SD or Walnut Grove, MN from the Little House On The Prairie stories. Unpaved streets, false-front buildings, white picket fences.
For a while, you see the idea of a slower, simpler life nearly seducing Steve as he watches the town children, everyday dressed like Sunday, playing happily. No crime. Everyone knows everyone. Just like this perfect happy little family.
Steve is introduced to Mayor Grateman (Frank Adamson), who puts Steve up at the Lovett's place, being there is no motel in town. It is here where Steve meets Belma (Monica Parker) and her daughter Courtney (Charlotte Sullivan), the girl Steve earlier saw on the outskirts of town. As she comes down the stairs, saying, "I thought I told you to keep walking," Steve looks like he is falling in love. The two have an almost immediate connection, a bond that is based on mutual suffering. It is revealed that Courtney's father Lyle, whom she was very close to, died 12 years prior, of what is called "The Fever." According to Belma, it struck him without any warning. Steve, on the other hand, lost his wife and daughter 2 years prior, in an accident of some sort. When Courtney asks him about it, Steve is still so sad that he can't even choke out any details. I disagreed with one or two reviewers who thought Steve Kady was a distant, almost cold character that "you never really know". Not at all.
That evening, the town menfolk get together to vote for the new Festival Host/Hostess. To everyone's joy, it is Ruby Flynn. I'm not sure why only men do the voting. It could be that with an old-fashioned town there are good ol' fashioned values, such as only men do the voting.
The friendship between Steve and Courtney causes the kind of stir you would expect in a town of this size. Although she seems to like Steve enough, Mother Belma seems to frown on her daughter talking to him too much. Could be because Deputy Bobby has always wanted to marry Courtney, and maybe Belma really loves Bobby and wants to see this. Bobby is a little nervous too, although he also likes Steve-O, as he calls him, and his apprehension is not aleviated by co-deputy Christian Hecker (Peter Outerbridge), a somewhat mean-spirited guy who tells Bobby he better keep an eye on Courtney, and hurry up and ask her to marry him.
Rockwell Falls is very much like a 436-member family. Within hours, all the citizens know Steve's name and they seem to be exceedingly welcome. All that is, except for one man, Mr. Sydes. His wife has developed some nasty sores. Seems like she got them as soon as this stranger came into town. Sydes grabs his shootin' iron and heads over to the local watering hole, where Steve is drinking some "smooth" whiskey with Bobby and the other good ol' boys. Sydes aims the rifle at Steve and threatens to kill him, saying he is to blame for the wife's boils, and that it's all part of "the prophecy", which is dismissed as a local superstition by Bobby. I am not sure what to make of the towns' purposefully misleading statements, or it could be that Bobby, who claims to view RF as Heaven On Earth as the others do, secretly believes that these "prophecies" and "acts of God" are really hogwash.
Steve has a nightmare the first night of his stay in Rockwell Falls. Rattled, he begins the long process of interviewing the townspeople, hoping to get finished asap so he can return to what he knows. Cute as this town is, these folks are a little odd, and they're not helping him get out of here quick, because they don't seem to be willing to help him find and interview one missing family.
The misleading and deceptive ways of the residents of RF are further illustrated by Bobby telling Steve that a bunch of schoolkids speaking in CRRRRREEEEEPY tongues is "just the teacher givin' the kids a lesson on local history", and later when the local hardware shopkeeper says, "Oh, yes, of course," when Steve says, "I didn't move here...I'm just here to count the census." These people seem to realize how weird their culture is, and don't seem to want to tell Steve that he is here to stay until the moment is just right.
Honestly, this film doesn't fit in with the horror genre. It's more of a psychological thriller, maybe even a hint of supernatural thriller. Having seen a ghoulish chalkboard drawing, Steve later looks through some town historical records and sees a similar drawing. Later it is explained that a great fire ravaged the village long ago.
I was at first stymied by the stopping of the clocks whenever the population was out of whack. I am supposing that it was the peoples' way of hoping that God would not bring wrath upon them. I don't know how "stopping time" would accomplish such a thing, but...
Dr. Greaver (David Fox) and his wife (Susan Kelso) are the town's esteemed healthcare providers. Presently, they are treating little Amanda Jacobs (Reva Timbers), a 12 year old girl whose mother died a while back and whose father was killed when he crashed his truck just outside of town, maybe 2 days before Kady appeared.
When her dad was killed, says Dr. Greaver, Amanda began to show signs of mental illness, and the "fever" is again mentioned. When Steve hears a child screaming, Nurse Greaver assures him that it is Amanda having delusions. Having noticed no legitimate licensure on the Doctor's wall, Steve feels it is wrong for the Greaver family to practice medicine without real medical degrees. He voices his concerns to Sheriff Colcutt (RH Thomson), and becomes even more spooked and suspicious when the Sheriff, instead of being concerned himself, informs Steve that Rockwell Falls is different.
Different indeed. As Steve begins to research the town and its people, he learns that they are fervent believers in Numerology. He begins to understand WHY they prefer that their population never be above or below 436 people, but he has yet to discover the methods they employ in order to ensure that this requirement is met without failure. He runs into more and more souls who are said to have suffered from the Fever. One zombie-like woman is escorted from Doc Greaver's by her husband. A youngster named Curly repeatedly approaches Steve and finally lunges for him, nearly strangling him, yelling something that sounds like "Run!!!"
Unable to shake the need to see if Amanda Jacobs is really okay, Steve manages to get into Dr. Greavers and see her. Angered at the burn marks on her head and her account of what is really going on with her "treatment of the Fever", Steve is determined to get both himself and this poor kid out of this Looneyville immediately.
He sees Courtney and confronts her, and for a change, is told the truth. Courtney sees the wrong in what her townpeople do, and doesn't like living here. When Steve met her, she was trying to escape on her horse. She tells Steve the same things Amanda told him. Steve then resolves that he will get both Amanda and Courtney out of there.
I'm not saying the love scene wasn't a ton of fun to watch, but why on earth would anyone decide to have a roll in the literal hay when there is so much going on that needs to be dealth with NOW???!!! Time's a wastin'!!! : ) I can't see it as anything more than really fun filler. I don't doubt at all that there was a bond between Steve and Courtney, and I LOVE both characters. And sure, there was some great chemicals between them and all, but it just seemed awkward to me. I just wanted to see them make a run FROM the border, get the hell out of Dodge, head for the hills, grabs some guns and go get little Amanda and lay out the bodies of all those brainwashed buggers on their way out!!! Rockwell Falls, Population -436!!!
The Festival takes place the following day, and here is where everything finally comes to a head. Courtney, noticing the stares, implores Steve to escape the town and find some cabin she knows about. We are then introduced to Ruby, the Festival Hostess. This sequence was AWESOME!!! Not only because it was so shocking but because it was just so fun seeing Steve's reaction to it. Because his behavior is so different from what these sweet folks consider to be "appropriate" he is believed to have contracted the fever. The scenes of "treatment" are incredible too, and a reminder that Sisto is an actor that never disappoints. Sick fun. Poor Courtney is dragged away to Dr. Greaver's too, obviously having another bout with that terrible fever.
While he's being zapped with electricity, Steve is told why the town does what it does and believes what it believes. A classic study in delusional thinking, the town of Rockwell Falls believes it to be such a wonderful place to live that anyone wanting to leave (and thus ruin the number 436) is obviously crazy, demented, just not well. This is their "fever" and the only treatments that will work are Doc Greaver's. Of course, babies must still be born, so whenever a new baby arrives, someone must be chosen to sacrifice his/her life. The same applies when a newcomer shows up. They explain to Steve that he is the reason for what happened with Ruby Flynn. The number 436 is the Will of God, and must not be altered. When Steve frantically tries to explain that he was only here to conduct his study on the census, he is terrified to learn that anyone who stays overnight in town will be forced to become a permanent resident.
A little crispy around the sideburns, Steve nevertheless continues to seek an escape route from what we now know is a very bad place. He meets a mysterious local named John Green (Arne MacPherson) who convinces Steve to "play along" like he loves living in town, and maybe eventually he will be able to escape.
There are 2 endings on the Region 1 DVD. One of them might lead you to ask, "Was it truly God who did that?" Or was it simply bad luck? Fate?
If you prefer the alternate ending, it works too, a testament that God is not what is behind these people, but rather Satan. But, while certainly a "happier" one, this ending is a less clever one. It chooses for you what to believe.
So I prefer the original ending. The most challenging and angering, and genius thing to me is that this ending seals the fact that the movie refuses to confirm or deny whether it was God who killed anyone who wanted to leave RF, or just plain fate or bad luck. This film can be also possibly interpreted as refusing to truly identify the heroes and the villains.
If you look at things from the peoples' viewpoint (I can't imagine ANYONE who would side with them, but...), Steve and Courtney were a threat, not just to the town but to themselves, and God would kill them if they foolishly ventured outside the "safe" confines of their haven of peace. They honestly see themselves as God's workers, carrying out acts of love and mercy. They felt they were doing what was best when they electrocuted little Amanda, and believed it was for the good of the town for Ruby to die, and Ruby was HAPPY and BLESSED to have her life ended. 433 out of 436 people saw things this way. What's truly upsetting is that here, as in real life, what the "majority" believes is what is felt to be "safe" for the body of humans in question, and the few who oppose are seen as the threats, the heretics, the misguided.
Look at it from the eyes of Steve, Courtney and Amanda, and you see something entirely different. The evil ones are these brainwashed, indoctrinated citizens who have obviously all been shaped over generations to observe one religion and no other. Needless to say, there is no freedom of religion, and everyone makes this religion the center of their lives. And from my own experience, I choose Steve and Courtney as the "heroes" of the picture. I mean, really, is God so mean as to force people to live in places and ways they don't wish to? Is it God's will or is it just a bunch of manipulative lies, the will of man imposing itself and then claiming to be the will of God? Not that they care, since they just KNOW they're right and anyone who disagrees is wrong, but these people fail to take into consideration one important thing: God gave man free will. I was extremely saddened by the fate of Courtney. She was always afraid that they'd take that last step to rob her of her free will, and they did. They did indeed "kill her spirit". There are few things more treacherous and evil that lobotomizing someone so that they'll behave themselves for you.
I admit, I've not seen a lot of films/books this is being compared to, like THE WICKER MAN, THE LOTTERY, THE STEPFORD WIVES, etc. so I cannot fairly say whether it's a first of its kind. I'm pretty sure it isn't. There are so many horror films, thrillers, supernatural dramas, and I have not seen one tenth of them probably. What I do know is, I really enjoyed this film. It struck me as full of surprises, not nearly as predictable as some have said, and while this sort of plot may or may not have been done numerous times in the past, it doesn't matter to me. All I care about is that for me, this was a new and very fun experience. My official grade is A.
CAST
Jeremy Sisto as STEVE KADY
Fred Durst as BOBBY CAINE
Charlotte Sullivan as COURTNEY LOVETT
Peter Outerbridge as CHRISTIAN HECKER
Arne MacPherson as JOHN GREEN
Reva Timbers as AMANDA JACOBS
David Fox as DOCTOR GREAVER
Frank Adamson as MAYOR GRATEMAN
Monica Parker as BELMA LOVETT
R.H. Thomson as SHERIFF COLCUTT
Susan Kelso as NURSE GREAVER
Rea Kavanagh as HARMONY EVANS
James Blicq as OBIE SPARK
David Ames as RONALD GREAVER
Christian Potenza as FRANK RAMSEY
Marina Stephenson Kerr as RUBY FLYNN
Patricia Hunter as MS. PUTTMAN
Brian Roach as CURLY SMALLS
Tom Anniko as EDGAR SMALLS (General Storekeeper)
Winston Sisto as TOTO/THE DOG
Pix
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POPULATION/436
