Living in Illinois, I know where "Munger Road" is located but had never heard of its checkered backstory and the rumors surrounding it. Apparently, the story is that paranormal entities haunt a specific location where a Canadian Railway crosses a road called "Munger Road" in a rural area of Bartlett. While this urban legend is relatively small, it still should have a film made in its honor, shouldn't it? St. Charles native Nicholas Smith has written and directed an interesting but relatively bland entry into the paranormal genre of film, yet has accumulated an impressive amount of publicity for the project and has garnered a solid amount of revenue as well.
Munger Road focuses on two narratives (one that could exist on its own, the other one would be difficult to sustain a short film) jammed together. One story follows two local cops, investigating the area after a murderer has escaped from a prison bus and is running ramped through the town. The other centers around four thrill-seeking teenagers, two men, two women, all faceless, as they venture out to the spot I previously mentioned to crack the rumors about Munger Road.
So they do, and once they stop on the railroad tracks, they apply baby-powder to the bumper, shut the car's lights off, and wait as they expect a ghost to push them off the tracks into safety. After that event, once they have gotten video evidence that something did in fact push their car, they realize that their cell phones are now frozen, their car stalls, starts, then stalls for good, and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night. Now the fun begins.
One major problem with the picture is the lighting or lack thereof. The worst thing, I believe, that could happen with a horror movie, next to animal abuse, or a low amount of source lighting, rendering the picture as black, indistinct, and frustratingly unclear. I was reminded of the pitch dark sequences in Albino Farm, which were no help to the film's clunky narrative. Here, the scenes do not happen a lot, but they often exist when the suspense is increasing. Don't even get me started on the lack of character development either. We have dopey guy, nicer guy, skanky girl, nicer girl, and two straight-laced cops. Next.
I have certain admiration for the film in regards that Smith seems like a capable directer, the writing isn't horrendously incompetent, and some of the atmosphere (when we can see it) is chilling and effective. However, Munger Road, unfortunately, could be a sour movie-going experience thanks to three words that conclude the film. I'll leave you with that...
Starring: Bruce Davison, Randall Batinkoff, Trevor Morgan, Brooke Peoples, Hallock Beals, Lauren Storm, and Art Fox. Directed by: Nicholas Smith.
