If you are some Fangoria-reading horror flick freak, no doubt you will rate this movie "1" or "2" on IMDb. Which is your own fault, because doing your homework in advance would have shown you this is NOT some brainless zombie smorgasbord offering such as DAWN OF THE DEAD, where the featured creatures literally rip out yards of intestines while gnawing on one bloody end (since apparently they have no sense of smell).
Instead, DONNER PARTY is presented more like a docudrama, with beautifully believable scenery and realistic sound effects (in fact, for insomniacs, this film might be as effectively sleep-inducing as those DVD's of logs burning in a fireplace). Its authenticity undoubtedly is enhanced by the movie being filmed in the actual Donner Pass near Truckee, CA, where these gruesome events took place during the winter of 1846-47.
That's right, DONNER PARTY is based on reality, unlike Hannibal Lecter forking out Ray Liotta's living brain at a nicely-set dinner table. Just as MOBY DICK incorporates a documented case of cannibalism (and sacrificing the sailor who draws the short straw for the sustenance of his shipmates), DONNER PARTY also reflects the willingness of most Americans to throw whoever they have to (e.g., Wisconsin school teachers) under the wheels of the bus to enhance their own survival.
To sum up, if you want the latest riff on THE TEXA$ CHAINSAW MASSACRE, do NOT rent DONNER PARTY. If, on the other hand, you wish to better understand the thinking of a Republican governor such as New Jersey's Chris Christie, there might not be a better model in film history than DONNER PARTY's leading proponent of expediency, expedition leader William Foster, played with just the right mixture of smug self-serving righteousness and smarmy disingenuous reptilian trickery by actor Crispin Glover.
Instead, DONNER PARTY is presented more like a docudrama, with beautifully believable scenery and realistic sound effects (in fact, for insomniacs, this film might be as effectively sleep-inducing as those DVD's of logs burning in a fireplace). Its authenticity undoubtedly is enhanced by the movie being filmed in the actual Donner Pass near Truckee, CA, where these gruesome events took place during the winter of 1846-47.
That's right, DONNER PARTY is based on reality, unlike Hannibal Lecter forking out Ray Liotta's living brain at a nicely-set dinner table. Just as MOBY DICK incorporates a documented case of cannibalism (and sacrificing the sailor who draws the short straw for the sustenance of his shipmates), DONNER PARTY also reflects the willingness of most Americans to throw whoever they have to (e.g., Wisconsin school teachers) under the wheels of the bus to enhance their own survival.
To sum up, if you want the latest riff on THE TEXA$ CHAINSAW MASSACRE, do NOT rent DONNER PARTY. If, on the other hand, you wish to better understand the thinking of a Republican governor such as New Jersey's Chris Christie, there might not be a better model in film history than DONNER PARTY's leading proponent of expediency, expedition leader William Foster, played with just the right mixture of smug self-serving righteousness and smarmy disingenuous reptilian trickery by actor Crispin Glover.