Donner Pass (2012)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

In1846, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the area known as Donner Pass, a starving man kills three others to eat their flesh during the winter, but a boy witnesses the murders and flees.In the present days, the teenagers Kayley (Desiree Hall), her boyfriend Mike (Colley Bailey), her cousin Nicole (Adelaide Kane) and the outcast Thomas (Erik Stocklin) travel to the house in Donner Pass of Thomas's parents that are in Europe. Thomas recommends his friends to be careful with the house since his parents do not know that they are spending the weekend there. They learn that the police are hunting down the criminal James Michael Epstein (John Kassir). Out of the blue, the troublemaker boyfriend of Nicole, Derek (Dominic DeVore), comes with his friends Brody (Antonio Trischitta), Valerie (Krystal Davis) and A.J. (Brandon Morales) in his SUV to stay with Nicole, despite the protests of Thomas. Soon their beer runs out and Brody drives the SUV to buy some more in the town. Brody goes missing and soon Mike, Kayley and Thomes find his body eaten. Meanwhile Valerie is murdered near the house and the car has flat tires. Who might be the cannibal that is attacking the group? "Donner Pass" is a terrible slasher with an awful gore story of cannibalism and one-dimensional characters. The explanation for the anthropophagy is ridiculous and most of the characters are non- charismatic. In the end, watching "Donner Pass" is a complete waste of time. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): Not Available

Donner Pass has a well-known and macabre history -- the place where George Donner and his party got stuck in the winter of 1846 and were forced to resort to cannibalism to keep from starving. But what if it was not just history? This is your standard young people alone in a secluded area type of horror film. There is some attempt to connect it to the legendary Donner Party, but it is done in such a way as to seem gratuitous and really outside the overall tone and thrust of he film.If someone were to make a film inspired by the story or actually set at the time, I think it could work well. "Ravenous" was a great film, for example. This one, though, is nothing special.

It took me some time to figure out what was going on here, even after we had been told in the script. Then I realised just what a load of rubbish it was. Up to a point the story was decent enough - your average serial-killer-on-the-loose-stalking-teens sort of saga. Then it all gets a bit silly and confusing.Mixing fantasy and reality just doesn't cut it for me. I prefer my shock and horror to be either believable or so fantastic it becomes thrilling. Explaining away inconsistencies in the plot with a dash of fantasy (much like Bobby Ewing in the shower, if you're old enough to remember) seems an increasingly convenient get-out for script writers, as there are hundreds of potentially good films ruined this way.It's decent enough if you're not as picky as me, but there's not a lot of mystery or suspense - apart from the mystery of the script.Not my cuppa tea but not a totally awful film either.

*** May contain spoilers! ***As others have mentioned, I watched "Donner Pass" without knowing that it was a horror movie instead of a documentary. I actually didn't realize until the guy came out of the woods. I too figured I would give it some latitude and see where it went.I have been a fan of the slasher genre for over 25 years. I'm forgiving of most slights and can be tolerant to occasional lapses.This movie is not terrible. I thought the acting was adequate for the genre (I've seen worse). I thought the storyline was a little thin given that there would be more people up in a ski resort area than "the next neighbour is miles away" that doesn't make sense logically. I appreciated the twists and turns in the movie including the date-rape-revenge motif.I have a problem with "snow horror." Maybe it's because we get actual winter in Canada with snow. Snow doesn't make for a good horror setting unless you're willing to use it as an extra character - isolating, unpredictable, cold - and this is where Donner Pass did use it well. But unlike bare ground, dirt, or gravel...snow leaves footprints. You can see when someone has been peeking in the windows - there is evidence! And characters that are blind to that just indicates shoddy writing. Sigh... Use it well or lose it entirely. Just my opinion, mind you.I agree with other reviewers who criticized the death at the hot tub. It felt forced and telegraphed and rather unrealistic that the guy didn't hear the splashing or the whimpering given that you could hear it from the underwater camera angle. Oh well...Overall a "not bad" horror film but as one of the characters in the movie said, "being not bad doesn't make you good."