Population 436

Plot synopsis:
Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto), a US Census Bureau researcher is sent to the remote and seemingly idyllic village of Rockwell Falls, North Dakota, to interview residents concerning the population. On the way to Rockwell Falls he is distracted by a woman falling off a horse and his vehicle hits a pothole and bursts two tires. He is eventually picked up by Bobby Caine (Fred Durst), the Sheriff's Deputy, who drives him into Rockwell Falls and helps him find a place to stay.
During his stay, Kady notices a number of increasingly strange things about the town, people acting awkward, and strange. People make vague allusions to 'the fever', and several residents treat him as though he were not just a visitor, but has moved to Rockwell Falls permanently. His research reveals that the town's population has remained at exactly 436 for over 100 years. People who try to leave Rockwell Falls seem to meet with bizarre and deadly accidents, or just vanish, which the residents believe to be the work of God. Kady also begins to have eerie dreams about a truck, a cross and a doll.
Kady becomes romantically involved with Courtney Lovett (Charlotte Sullivan), a local woman and the daughter of his host, much to the chagrin of Caine, who is also in love with her. He also befriends Amanda, a young girl whose father was killed trying to escape from the town and who is being held at the clinic of Dr Greaver, the town doctor, on the pretext of treating her for schizophrenia. Courtney and Amanda both express a desire to leave the town, but are afraid of the consequences of trying.
After stumbling upon some books on Biblical numerology, Kady realizes that the townspeople attach a mystical importance to the number 436 and are willing to go to extreme lengths to keep the population at exactly that number, including executing surplus residents. Anyone who expresses a desire to leave is treated for the 'fever' by Dr. Greaver with electroshock therapy or, in extreme cases, frontal lobotomy. It gradually becomes apparent to Kady that the residents of Rockwell Falls have no intention of allowing him to leave.
After witnessing the execution of a seemingly willing woman at a town feast, Kady becomes hysterical, and is taken to the clinic to be treated for the 'fever'. He escapes from the clinic, and is sheltered by a sympathetic resident who reluctantly helps him plan his escape. After setting fire to the town garage as a diversion, Kady rescues Amanda from the clinic, but is forced to leave Courtney behind after discovering that she has been lobotomized by Dr. Greaver. As Kady and Amanda flee the town in a stolen tow-truck, a rainstorm is brewing and, after a lightning strike, the cross from his dream appears in the truck hanging from the mirror. It is followed by the doll from his dream appearing on the dashboard with the next lightning strike. While he is distracted by these, the truck veers into the path of an oncoming semi-trailer truck, killing them both.
The film ends with one of Kady's co-workers (Christian Potenza), who has come in search of him, being picked up by a police officer after his car hits the same pothole that Kady's did, blowing his tires, echoing the beginning of the film.

Tags: brainwashing, cult, murder

Review:
Jeremy Sisto stars as census taker who stumbles into a town where the population has stayed the same for over a 100 years.
A decent thriller with an unique plot, Pop/436 tells a story of a small town that through over 100 years has kept a constant population.
The story is adequate, but a good background score and another excellent performance by Jeremy Sisto (who was excellent in Paranoia 1.0) is able to keep the audience interested for the 90 min runtime.Don't expect anything extraordinary from this movie, but in a day and age where over budget movie miss the mark time and time again, Pop/436 is a rare treat which is worth a view..
While traveling to Rockwell Falls in an assignment of the US Census Bureau, the surveyor from Chicago Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto) has two flat tires nearby the small town.
Steve finds that Rockwell Falls, considered by the locals as the most perfect place on Earth, has the same population since 1860 and sooner he discloses the meaning and the dark secret of their creed of solidarity and steadfastness."Population 436" is a good horror B-movie, with an intriguing dark story that in some moments recall the original "The Stepford Wives" and a great mystery.
The story was fairly engaging, the acting really wasn't that bad and the whole feel of the movie was pretty much dead on.On the box it said that it was like 'The Wicker Man' which is one of my favourite movies, and it comes fairly close to capturing the concept of that movie (though not as well) so thats a big endorsement from me.I'm not gonna be bothered going into the story but lets just say that if you are a fan of this kind of movie then you should probably check it out..
The movie perhaps also feels a bit like a poor man's "The Village".Jeremy Sisto is a good 'big' leading man for a this kind of movie, though I expected more from him honestly.
The supporting cast does a good job although this movie of course hardly features any of the best performances.Worth a watch, if you're into the genre.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
Population 436 is yet another piece of evidence for the theory that suspense film writers think that everyone who goes to a movie theatre is stupid.
A film such as Population 436, like many in its genre, is a straight-to-DVD movie.
Most are just plain bad and unsurprisingly this is the category that Population 436 fits into.It begins with a journey by a census-taker who is travelling to the small town of Rockwell Falls in order to find out why the population has remained at 436 since the 19th century.
It's an original idea granted but I always find if a movie is based in a small town ending in 'Falls' you better hold on to the receipt as you are in possession of damaged goods.
Interestingly enough his acting is actually one of the best features of the movie as an initial intriguing plot soon gets bogged down into the mundane and obvious horror plot.As you might imagine, all is not well in Rockwell Falls and the census-taker is viewed with trepidation and treated with disdain.
If this is an attempt to lengthen the movie, then mission accomplished - but otherwise, I don't think it has reached any goal.The suspense tricks deliberately doesn't work for me and makes this film rather a bizarre mystery drama...and can't be classified as a thriller or horror..
Although I didn't quite like the story, the movie wasn't completely bad.The movie is about a census taker who goes to a town that has a population of only 436 people.
Shockingly Decent Film You've Never Heard Of. Jeremy Sisto plays a census bureau guy, sent to Rockwell Falls (named after the guy who sings "Somebody's Watching Me") to see why they've had the same population for 100 years in a row.
But the people of the town have other plans for Jeremy.I started watching this movie as one of my "luck of the draw" picks, not expecting much after the never-ending influx of poor crud I get to see all the time.
But this film was good, actually good, and most shockingly: it was good because of Fred Durst, the frontman for rap-rock group Limp Bizkit.Durst plays the town police officer, and does such a fine job of being cordial and friendly in one scene and emotional in another.
Sure, you have to ignore the obvious (like why the town is so isolated in 2006) but that's not as difficult as you might think because this film makes you want to believe.Just watch it.
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.
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.
It's not going to win any awards, and the acting is not the greatest, but the story is interesting in a Stepford Wives/Wicker man sort of way.TV director/producer Michelle Maxwell MacLaren did a good job of presenting a story by new writer Michael Kingston in his sophomore effort.
It's not going to win any awards, and the acting is not the greatest, but the story is interesting in a Stepford Wives/Wicker man sort of way.TV director/producer Michelle Maxwell MacLaren did a good job of presenting a story by new writer Michael Kingston in his sophomore effort.
"Population 436" may be most notable for having the first real acting performance from Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, so I feel like I should start off by commenting on it.
Even though he's been in several mediocre films, he can bring life to any of them and he does so again here as the protagonist, Steve Kady, who comes to investigate why the town of Rockwell Falls has had the same population for the last century.
Michelle MacLaren, a first time film director, keeps everything pretty low-key and just lets the story play out."Population 436" has an interesting premise going for it, and perhaps with a bit more fleshing out and a unique style, it could have been an A-class thriller.
Plot Outline: A census-taker (Sisto) is sent to investigate why a certain small town has had the same population -- 436 residents -- for the last 100 years.Entertaining movie.
The comment length is kind of getting to me at this late hour but how can deny oneself some good old latenight fun like a tense movie ?Enjoy..
This film absolutely was the best, in the style of the remade Wicker Man. In all the film watching i have done i have never seen a movie with this premise, subtraction of a population, then adding to it.
I wasn't very familiar with the actors, or actresses in this film, except for maybe Fred Durst, who did a fine job,, what i liked about this film was that was no over the top special effects, none of the flam and stuff you get from the big budget movies.
The plot takes numerous twists throughout the story, some of which i did not see coming, which is good, because as a movie goer you like to be surprised by what you see on the screen.
this is an interesting tale as far as ghost stories go.i won't go into the plot because i don't want to give anything away.unfortunately,the premise is interesting,but the rest of the movie plods along at a snail's pace.there is next to no action.the story is very dialogue driven and not enough is done with the premise.the movie is almost incomplete in a sense because the central issue is barely explored,and very little background is given as to the reasons for the strange goings on in the town,(true we are given some surface explanation)at least not in depth.there really is no payoff,no climax to speak of.the movie ends as quietly as it began.the acting in the move is good,the movie is photographed well,but the script doesn't do justice to its central theme.i'd have to say Population 436 rates 4/10 due to its creative though ultimately unexplored plot line..
population 436 was a movie that you would see on the shelf at blockbuster and say that it looks terrible but if you give it a chance it is a very well made and enjoyable film.it sucks now that blockbusters gone just for the fact that no one knows about these straight to DVD films anymore and a lot of the time nowadays,they are made better than a big budget picture.i really liked this movie and if your a thriller/horror buff you will enjoy this movie.kind of feels like watching one of those classic horrors from the 70s and 80s,eerie at times and an overall creepy feel.jeremy sisto was excellent as a lead character and hope to see in more leading roles..
To make this quick, the fact of having a cast like Jeremy Sisto, and Fred Durst, made me pejoratively await a cheesy cliché fan fiction like rip-off of some other lame blockbuster, but in the end,I got surprised.
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..
The main gist and idea of the story sounded original and promising, plus I've never had the chance to see Fred Durst act outside Limp Bizkit's music videos.Unfortunately, the film didn't follow through.
Set in a creepy little town, you have a feeling of impending doom the whole time.Fred Durst is a great actor, what ever happened to him?
Most of it though it's entertaining and keeps you guessing for clues and twists.A strangely entertaining movie with an otherworldly passing wind.It will satisfy your lust to think, doubt and sympathize with the characters.Pop/436 certainly falls in the Drama/Mystery/Thriller genre.
The acting is good and even though we may be able to figure out what is going to happen this is an effective little film.
Steve, a census-taker (Jeremy Sisto, Six Feet Under and Law & Order) is sent to Rockwell Falls on an assignment, a small isolated town of 436 who harbor a dark secret which they'd rather not let the outside world know about.
It's just that the 'isolated town with a dark secret' type film has been done many many times before and there's absolutely nothing new that this film adds to the sub-genre (aside from a horrendous ending that doesn't jar well with anything else in the film in the least, the movie will bring a strong sense of deja-vu for anyone who's seen any of this type of film) Kudos to Fred Durst for not completely and utterly stinking the film up, but that's all the accolades that I can give the film.My Grade: C-.
I guess this would be a pretty good indicator for most people as to why the population stays at 436 right from the off, and the film makes a habit of not keeping it's cards close enough to it's chest as heavy hints are dropped often and by the time it gets to actually finding out the mystery, you already know.
It's very similar to films like "Dead and Buried","The Wicker Man", "Messiah of Evil" and in a way even to the almighty Hershell Gordon Lewis' classic "2000 Maniacs", with its plot about the remote little village of Rockwell Falls that holds the same number of inhabitants since more than a complete century.
Jeremy Sisto is a census taker stranded in the isolated town of Rockwell Falls, population 436 (and shot in Canada, of course).
The bureau man is Steve(Jeremy Sisto)and along the way he befriends Deputy Bobby(Fred Durst, not bad)who is quite sure that the lovely Courtney(Charlotte Sullivan)will marry him.
However, to figure out not only the genre but even the entire "mystery" behind this unoriginal premise, all you need to do is to watch the first 436 seconds of P436: contained in it is all the most basic information you need to spoil for yourself any kind of major plot-twist "surprise" that the incompetent writer and clumsy female director had planned for you.The movie begins like this: 1.
That is what is known as "information overkill".Hence, a simple mathematical equation should help even Slipknot fans to read the humongous plot-twist miles ahead: 1 + 2 + 3x4 = the town must be some kind of a religious cult that maintains its precise population number by force.So why watch the rest of the movie?
The "hero" is boring in all kinds of ways, and when the obvious ending comes, you breathe a sigh of relief that this is FINALLY over.I enjoy watching an Ed Wood movie because it is so bad it is both funny and tragic.
He set the bar for this sort of storytelling so high that most filmmakers can't reach it, and they end up making movies that are nothing but pale, lame and bloated imitations of Twilight Zone episodes.This film is the story of Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto), who works for the U.S. Census Bureau.
Deputy Bobby Caine (Fred Durst) shows up and somewhat reluctantly gives Steve a lift into town.It's almost immediately apparent to Steve (and anyone watching this movie) that there's something not-quite-right about Rockwell Falls, but he (and the audience) basically spins his wheels until the filmmakers finally get around to revealing the truth.
They kill time by setting up a ham-handed love triangle between Steve, Deputy Caine and local girl Courtney (Charlotte Sullivan), Steve becoming concerned with a little girl named Amanda (Reva Timbers), and a lot of references to "the fever", "equilibrium" and "the union of the divine".After waiting long enough to stretch the story out to feature length, the filmmakers finally unveil the secret of Rockwell Falls, a secret you'll be able to figure out within the first 5 minutes of the movie if you think about it.
Steve, Courtney and Amanda all want out, and the rest of the movie is about how and if they make it.This isn't a bad idea for a story, but Rod Serling had a bunch of these ideas and you can't help but notice that the folks who made Population 436 didn't do anything more with their idea in 92 minutes than Serling did in less than half an hour on The Twilight Zone.
Jeremy Sisto does an adequate job in a pretty generic role and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst doesn't completely embarrass himself with his acting, but no one else in the cast is at all noteworthy.One of the things I don't understand about this movie is why it's so restrained and relatively clean cut.
He actually is a very good actor which really shows in his in-depth, complex character portrayal.Jeremy Sisto plays a man who visits the town on business but the residents are convinced he's there to stay.*Possible Spoiler----Look for the "Ozzy & Harriet" family of 4 living in the underground jail cell until they find a new place.
The acting and direction is very good mostly although the movie has Fred Durst in it and when he has to play a character turmoiled by his emotions he cant really pull it off 100% convincingly.
The setting and direction for this low budget gem is very well done and sticks to exactly what it looks like it was made to be, no real surprises and in this case it works for it.Definitive character actor Jeremy Sisto plays census bureau worker Steve Kady who comes to the small town of Rockwell Falls to go through their records and figure out why their population hasn't changed in 100 years.
The cast of townspeople have this intriguing naivety about them and a strange trance like lifestyle in this small town.Population 436 is a decent low budget thriller with a strong story, a good cast and a relatively non predictable ending.
The story follows Steve Kady(Sisto) as a census taker who stumbles into a small town called 'Rockwell Falls', town where the population has stayed the same for over a 100 years.
Census taker Jeremy Sisto (a little heavy, but still dreamy) is sent to investigate why the town's population is ALWAYS 436 people.
It's comparable to movies such as 'the lottery'(1996), Children Of The Corn or The Wicker-man since they all take place in small and traditional American towns that breathe a very creepy atmosphere.It has a cool Twilight Zone feel to it; a creepy intense atmosphere created among others by the well-chosen locations and subtle dialog.Unlike 'the lottery' it's very well-acted; Jeremy Sisto is one hundred percent believable as the average Joe that gets mixed up in a situation beyond his control and all the other actors( yes, even Fred Durst) deliver a more then decent performance.This movie is an example of how low-budget films can be a lot better then big-budget ones.
A short story summary: Steve Kady is an employee of the census bureau who's ordered to count the population in Rockwell Falls, a small American village that's miles away from any other town or city.
It plays along exactly like every other scary movie you've ever seen -- except for the good ones, that is.
Watching it I almost wished it would have a few "scare your face off" scenes for diversity; not that I think films should actually try to scare (really, people get scared by movies?