Population 436 (2006)

Great Film overall

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Very average low budget movie about Census Agency agent stuck in your typical American rural town with crazy locals keeping their secrets, where sheriff just says "we have our own laws here". This one has a permanent population number of 436, hence the title. The origins of the mystery behind it are explained poorly and sound absurd (also, what "wicked man"?). You get the feeling "I watched all these scenes somewhere already and know all these dialogues" while watching the movie, all the cliches and dumb decisions are there.What's the real mystery is how Fred Durst ended up here, who plays a deputy sheriff. It's actually his only role in the movie which he didn't direct himself (not counting TV series). I didn't know about his involvement with the production of this film and seeing him here was a surprise.It's an OK rental if you have nothing else to watch, it actually feels looks and feels like a TV movie. The orchestral soundtrack is pleasant to listen.

...and not in a good way. Instead, POPULATION 436 is difficult to sit through, purely because it's not very well made. The story comes across as a mix of a typical Stephen King small-town-hiding-dark-secret effort a la NEEDFUL THINGS, with a STEPFORD WIVES-style twist thrown into the mix. Given some of the imagination that's gone into the writing (and in particular the premise), this should have been a hell of a lot better than it's turned out.POPULATION 436 just doesn't have much to offer the viewer. The film has been miscast and Jeremy Sisto is extremely hard to like as the hero. The mysterious nature of the narrative sits at odds with the violent scenes which have been shoehorned into the plotting to spice up the film for horror fans. The characters are unlikeable and there's a definite lack of pace; this should have been more like CHILDREN OF THE CORN, with a sense of evil forces closing in and building excitement that way.Instead, the film offers exactly one predictable but affecting moment at the climax, while the rest of it feels like a wasted opportunity, a SyFy-level B-movie rather than a proper movie.

I really enjoyed this movie. Not only am I a fan of Jeremy Sisto, I'm a fan of psychological thrillers that gives the audience a puzzle to figure out by the end of the movie. This flick provides both.I've seen people saying stuff like "well it doesn't explain XYZ." It's not supposed to explain anything to the viewer, the viewer is given clues throughout and put the pieces together to figure it out for themselves. It's sad that people have become so accustomed to being passively entertained, that they can't enjoy a movie unless everything is neatly organized in easily understood sound bites. This movie is about many things. If I were to give a short synopsis, I'd say it's about the lines blurred between belief and reality, delusion and magic. It's kind of like the Believers, only with some good old fashioned occultism thrown in. The only difference, is that the ending is supposed to be *subjective* to viewer interpretation. Does the shared dream between Jeremy Sisto and the little girl confirm that there's higher forces at work? Perhaps. If so, is it God? Or is it the result of a spell cast long ago? The world may never know.

I watched this movie because I am a little interested in numerology and adding the numbers 4,3 and 6 equals to 13 which created a interest in me to watch this movie. But I have to say I wasn't disappointed. This was a movie which kept me occupied fully the entire time I was watching it. I didn't much like the ending but I guess it goes well with the plot. There were of course a few loopholes in the plot but which can be happily ignored. There wasn't any bloodshed or horrifying scenes in this movie but the entire movie had the tension and eree feeling in it which kept me interested the entire time I was watching this movie. I'd say don't watch this movie with a lot of expectations but once you start watching it I can guarantee you that you will watch it till the end unless you are totally not into this genre of movie. Good movie, worth watching. \m/ Enjoy!