Munger Road (2011)

Overall, I thought Munger Road was rather entertaining, if amateur.  Sure, it's pretty much a retread of two types of movie: teenagers horseplaying and falling prey; and a cop chasing a long-time nemesis--but it still managed to hook me for a pleasant evening of independent horror film.  So go out there and support independent film   

The plot is pretty standard, with some interesting variations.  A group of teens (two couples) decide to take their chances by visiting the notorious, haunted Munger Road on  the outskirts of their city, in the middle of the night.  At the same time, we follow a police story about an equally notorious killer who has just escaped.  I couldn't help but think of Halloween with this killer-on-the-loose as Michael, and the cop as Dr. Loomis.  In any case, the oscillation between the two intervening plots helps keep the pacing up and the story interesting.

At first I thought the perspective was going to stay predominantly through the teens' handheld camera, but, luckily, we stay in the omnipresent third-person camera most of the time.  The handheld camera is used a couple of times for some nice little horror-film antics, though. 

The acting was above average for an indie horror flick.  I enjoyed the genuine fun everyone on set seemed to be having with their roles and interactions.

So, again, it's a retread of movies we've seen before.  But, with above-average acting and some nice thrills, it is worth a watch.

Rating: 3/5