Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Crappy film

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

True story: in 1864, a group of emigrants travelling through Donner Pass, California, became trapped by such heavy snow that some of them eventually resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.Not quite so true story: in 2014, BA_Harrison resorted to chewing off his own legs in order to relieve his frustration at watching yet another run-of-the-mill slasher in which a bunch of unlikeable teens get slaughtered by a homicidal maniac.After a reasonable intro in which we witness the gruesome events of Donner Pass, 1864, this film follows a group of present-day teens who travel to a remote cabin for a weekend break only to be bumped off one-by-one by a mysterious killer. Ho-hum.To be fair, Donner Pass does get slightly better towards the end, when the plot takes a strange turn involving rape/revenge, and a cannibalistic antagonist who can pass 'the hunger' to his victims, but for the most part it is routine teen-friendly nonsense the likes of which we have seen countless times before.A brief bit of topless action from a soon-to-be-dead blonde in a hot-tub and some reasonable gore (including one character who gets a pick-axe through the throat AND a claw hammer in the eye for good measure) helps to make the time pass a bit less painfully, but you won't be missing much if you decide to pass on Donner Pass.

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.

A group of unlikable 'teens' all of whom look like they're rapidly approaching 30 and act 10, go up to vacation at a remote cabin that's close to the fabled Donner Pass are stalked by an unknown killer.I'm more prone to be a tad lenient with first time writer/directors, and while Elisa Robertson may have done TV movies previously, I believe this might be her first stab at a feature film. However that self-imposed courtesy is surely tested here as everything about the movie is dreadful. From the atrocious sub-par high school play caliber acting, to the awful threadbare plot, and every mundane thing in between, this movie screams out to be publicly ridiculed. So yea, well I guess rules were made to be broken.Eye Candy: Krystal Davis gets toplessMy Grade: D-Where I saw it: the movie channel

The stuff the words 'straight to Blu Ray' was invented for.Four teens, Two very unlikeable, one likable, and one very quiet go to the quiet ones parents cabin for a weekend of being in an average film.One has a secret ans will be involved in a twist come the end scene. Guess which one? Before the main narrative starts, we are invited to a back story of the Donner group, a legend where bearded people ate each other. Apparently in the States, it's quite an infamous story.Here in England, it sounds like a road where you would get a kebab, only less entertaining.Back to the story, the horrible one invites her boyfriend and his friends, who are even more unlikeable than ever one else.Fortunately, someone is prowling the grounds and killing them off one by one.The thing is about Donner pass, is that it's been done literally hundreds of times before, since the early eighties, and now it's one of the most tired of sub-genres out there.Evil dead was ground breaking in this 'Teens in a cabin being menaced by the supernatural' genre i'm on about.This is by the numbers dirge, with some rancid performances from some Abercrombie and Fitch wannabes.It's horrible stuff, made on a budget nearly the same of 'The Descent', but with none of the thrill, or the intensity.People will see this though, because it has the appeal, and will make it's money back, which in turn will cause more of this poison to be made.