Whether or not you enjoy this movie depends on what, exactly, you like most about the horror genre. If you want blood-pounding suspense, murderous monsters, and a general high-adrenaline experience, this probably isn't your film. There are a few gorey attack scenes, but that's really not what the movie is about. Ditto if you like rational, explicable horror, some tangible cause to a monstrous effect. You want tidy answers? Not gonna get 'em here.
But if you like creeping dread, the slow descent into madness, surreal disquiet, and the tantalizing sting of an unsolvable mystery... there really is no movie I can recommend more. Yellow Brick Road is all about atmosphere, drawing the viewer into an unsettling yet brightly-lit tale of human fallibility and inevitable insanity. The protagonists are all fairly solid people who make one fatal mistake— continuing on the path. They are given no reason to be genuinely fearful until they've walked for miles. By the time they realize something is very, very wrong, it's too late to go back. Perhaps it was too late the moment they set foot on the trailhead.
If the film has a main flaw, it's the final scene. Without spoiling it, I can say that it's disappointing from a technical standpoint. But this is a fairly small complaint inasmuch as the film doesn't hinge on the ending. The journey down the Yellow Brick Road is one worth taking— preferably during the day, with friends.
Subtle and Insidious
Whether or not you enjoy this movie depends on what, exactly, you like most about the horror genre. If you want blood-pounding suspense, murderous monsters, and a general high-adrenaline experience, this probably isn't your film. There are a few gorey attack scenes, but that's really not what the movie is about. Ditto if you like rational, explicable horror, some tangible cause to a monstrous effect. You want tidy answers? Not gonna get 'em here.
But if you like creeping dread, the slow descent into madness, surreal disquiet, and the tantalizing sting of an unsolvable mystery... there really is no movie I can recommend more. Yellow Brick Road is all about atmosphere, drawing the viewer into an unsettling yet brightly-lit tale of human fallibility and inevitable insanity. The protagonists are all fairly solid people who make one fatal mistake— continuing on the path. They are given no reason to be genuinely fearful until they've walked for miles. By the time they realize something is very, very wrong, it's too late to go back. Perhaps it was too late the moment they set foot on the trailhead.
If the film has a main flaw, it's the final scene. Without spoiling it, I can say that it's disappointing from a technical standpoint. But this is a fairly small complaint inasmuch as the film doesn't hinge on the ending. The journey down the Yellow Brick Road is one worth taking— preferably during the day, with friends.