Yellow Brick Road is bleak, but it is a somewhat decent movie up to maybe the last fifth of the film. The opening sequence with the photos and the old sound recording of the survivor is actually really effective, better than the whole rest of the film, and proves again how a strong opening can sustain a film no matter how mediocre it is from that point on – I would argue that the opening minutes of this film sustain it through a full three-quarters of the movie.

The set up that follows the opening sequence is actually not bad. It’s not a great set up, but it is surprisingly effective given how compressed it is and how little dialog there is in it. I thought the scene when he meets the girl who knows where the trailhead is was quite good. As for the main body of the film, sure it’s full of holes and many things are either not explained or don’t make complete sense, but that’s kinda beside the point. This is an “atmosphere film,” and it has just enough of it to hold everything together, barely! They might not have made the whole premise seem plausible, but they did not fall so far short that one can’t enjoy the movie.

I should point out that the acting and the dialog in this film is decidedly better than it looks in the preview – lines in the preview that sound horrible actually sound pretty good in the film. This film is not really a Blair Witch thing – it’s considerably better than The Blair Witch Project: it is way creepier, its creepiness is more coherent, and the acting and character development is superior. Actually, I think the no-name actors did quite a good job, especially the town girl that tags along with the expedition. The dialog is not great, but it is not embarrassing either, and is decently executed.

Given the incredibly strange narrative path the film proceeds down, I was really wondering where it could possibly end. On this score I guess one could say my worst fears were realized – it is unrelentingly bleak and violent, and leaves you with very little sense of what actually happened. But with that said, there is something strangely natural and inevitable about how it all winds up. It’s almost believable, and this artistic restraint makes the film worth seeing, in my opinion. It’s just so fucking bleak I don’t know how anyone can stand it!

I guess I would recommend this film if you like horror and want to see something in the genera besides slasher movies. Just don’t see it if you are feeling down about life.