June 9 (2008)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

I just watched this Film, and coming from another Filmmaker. In my personal opinion it took way to long to get to the point! A bunch of kids causing trouble and pissing off the locals. The Cinematography was fantastic, to kudos to that. In no way did this Film scare me, not a bad start for some actors who are starting out trying to to get some screen time. Not a bad written story, I personally would have changed a few things script wise. I guess my main complaint is most of the movie was bored kids looking to get into trouble. And then finally at the end they are killed......Why? What was the main idea? Whenever i sit down to write a script my producers will ask me, why? What Am I writing this, what am i trying to get across to the audience?

Alternately boring and creepy, stream-of-consciousness home movie about five obnoxious teens hangin' out around town, checking out some supposedly haunted places on the outskirts of their tiny little town in Ohio. These little nitwits play pranks, puke, and generally act like obnoxious teens for about 80 minutes of the footage, but the other 15 minutes of it, was very creepy, and really got to me. Something about this movie stuck in my mind, more so than its obvious inspiration, The Blair Witch Project, a film which I have never been a fan of. This film has the similar look and tone, but largely different story and ideas, of the people of a small town exacting a horrific revenge on these little pricks. When the teens first think they see something in the dark in the woods, I watched the scene again to see if there really was something there. I didn't do that at any time, for any scene, in the BWP. The twins standing by the windows, blankly staring out at them, as simple as that may be, was supremely creepy, as was the little girl's voice on the radio. And the ending was brutal, very cold. But, for all its suspense in those scenes, I couldn't help get the feeling that these were just unbelievably boneheaded teenagers who, basically, get just what's coming to them. Also unusual and unique to this film is that such a major plot twist actually takes places *after* the closing credits.I'll definitely check this film out again, which is more than I can say about its obvious inspiration, The Blair Witch Project.

I can remember when I saw the film 'REC' on suggestion from a friend and I was terrified by it. Then, a few months later, I was scrolling through a selection of movies and I found this film. I picked it out and watched it the full way through. By the end, I was in shock by what I'd seen.Bear in mind, this film isn't award-winning acting or plot, but the style in which it's executed is all but horrid, managing to flawlessly pull off the style of the late 90's, the year being 1999 in the film.-Plot- A gang of friends decide to go around from town to town causing mischief and mayhem on the locals and catching everything on their hand-held camera. What they don't realize is that the pranks they pulled off on the locals of a town called Boston Mills didn't go unnoticed and, as such, have stirred up the hive. Soon, the trips to Boston Mills become more and more bizarre, leading to the massacre of the four teens by the townfolk in a cornfield. Each teen is killed in some gruesome, maniacal way, one young woman sustained a direct jab from the rough edge of a sledgehammer to the forehead while another received repeated blows to the skull with a rock from another crazed local. Another short film during the credits reveals that the teens were carved up and fed to pigs while their belongings were stored and sifted through by the locals in a shed behind a church.The plot seems recycled from the 70's crazed killer movies, but the execution is nearly flawless. With solid and realistic acting from most of the characters followed up by a gruesome and truly disturbing ending that you thought would've been tamer, this film is truly a hidden gem in the sinking ship that is the horror film genre.-Overall- 'June 9' attempted and managed to pull off a P.O.V hand-held film that would normally go along nicely using a regular 35mm. The feeling that you get from the film is that you're accompanying these teens on some sort of adventure that is abruptly halted by a sickening ending. You watch as these four kids you traveled about with are slaughtered mercilessly and you can do nothing about it. These are nightmares that every person has when they'd watch films like Deliverance or even Jason and, for that, 'June 9' will always remain my pick as one of the better horror movies to come out of 2008.

I didn't expect to like this movie... and for the first fifteen minutes I really didn't... for the next half hour after that I was on the fence... but by the middle of the movie I was pretty much into it. The thing is, the characters are presented in a way unlike how a mainstream movie would do it. They aren't pretty and they aren't smart and they aren't 'cool'... they're just ordinary bored punks wasting their summer together. You have to stick with this movie and let it move at its own pace.At first you expect the movie is, like most Hollywood movies, in love with the protagonists... selling the characters to be admirable somehow... but it really isn't. It just lets you watch them and slowly get to know them. It's so rare that a movie would take the time like this one does in letting you get to know the protagonists. Not that you ever grow to love them, the movie doesn't want you to anyway... but the kids and their abrasive behavior begin to be nuanced with their other shortcomings... and you recognize them as being like people you've known. Their initial swagger is all for show and they're really deeply vulnerable. Great acting on the parts of the main performers carried this off like no smug Hollywood 'stars' ever could have. The weakest parts of the movie were some of the townsfolk and the scattered 'FX' jump-cuts. I also think it was a BIG mistake to put the giveaway shot of the TV at the beginning of the movie... this movie needs some subtler method of foreshadowing than that. It's obviously influenced by Blair Witch, which I loved... but its got a lot of unique elements of its own that most folks are gonna miss or ignore. Some have said the violence looks 'fake' and I think that's a reaction based on having only seen violence in other movies where it's done in a more cinematic way than it is here. This isn't a particularly cinematic film... there is nothing spectacular about the violence. It's done in a very matter-of-fact sort of way. This isn't really the sort of movie that scares you much while you're watching it... but it will creep back into your mind later and haunt you... if you're patient enough to give it a chance.*SPOILER* The bits at the end with the Lisa character were most disturbing for me because, while she comes off as one of the more innocent characters her final scenes are some of the most brutal. Also, for people who are so SHOCKED!!! that there are small children present during the violent scenes... just stick to Disney movies why dontcha?