Powerful

Please don't spend money on this.

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good movie but grossly overrated

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.

Though undeniably cut from the slasher mould, Donner Pass rises above most other films of its type thanks to a serious approach and a fine cast. Based upon the legend of the Donner Party, the film gives us a new explanation for what really happened to those stranded people and how the same fate still stalks others who wander into Donner Pass. Script and direction are extremely well executed, and the relative lack of camp combines with the cold, dark, and isolated environment in which the plot develops to create an atmosphere of genuine suspense. The actors do a fine job all round, especially Desiree Hall as our main character and ultimate Final Girl. Ms. Hall's character is likable without being too good to be true, and so emerges as a real flesh-and-blood character we want to see triumph, even when it appears all hope for her has vanished. The rest of the cast does an admirable job as well, and the script fosters a sense of disaster by creating a group of people who are all consumed by various competing agendas and who are often not very likable. This adds an interesting group dynamic and an extra layer of danger--not only are the characters threatened by the mysterious killer, but by themselves as well. Special effects are very minimal, confined to a few bloody kills, but since the story relies more upon mystery and suspense than gore to generate its scares, the relative lack of visceral visual FX is hardly anything to complain about. Donner Pass may be a low-budget slasher movie, but it also proves that even within those confines it is possible to make a quality production. Worth at least a rental by any horror fan looking for an interesting twist on a familiar genre.

Overall, I loved the movie. The graphics were good, the acting was superb and the plot was decent. I liked how in the opening scene, it shows a legend about how George (I think that's the name) Donner ends up killing all (implied) of the Donner Party. I also liked how the main characters traits were. I thought that Kayley had sort of a self-centered (At least around Mike) personality. Mike had more of also a self-centered personality, and I don't get how Kayley and Mike could have even stayed together throughout what happened. I thought that Thomas was mysterious and at first, I thought he was a nerd, and also an Emo type of personality. I thought that, well, don't get me started on Nicole. I thought she was a little stuck up in my opinion and didn't care about anyone except herself. I liked the graphics (I didn't know there was THAT much intestines in the human body) and thought they were moderately realistic. I liked the idea of how the blood of someone who has tasted live human flesh can turn you into something else, and I also liked the Friday the 13th like ending. Overall, I think that this movie should have deserved to be in theaters. I enjoyed this movie a lot and probably would watch this again with my friends (if they liked horror).My rating is: 7.5 out of 10 (Or, 3.75 out of 5)

When I first saw this movie in Redbox I thought well for a buck ill rent it. I love horror movies, and probably more tolerant of lousy ones than most. This, however, wasn't lousy. Some of the characters were, of course, annoying (moreso than usual) but i liked the heroine. The rest of the cast could have been anyone off the street and the punks that came to the cabin after the main four were over the top obnoxious. The story itself wasn't that special, basically usual killer movie and pretty much typical ending. That said, again I am very tolerant of what many consider lousy movies, the movie moved along fairly steady, with what I guess an interesting story line (it could have been much better idea was OK). A couple of scenes almost ruined it. The scene where the couple was in hot tub and the guy got out to urinate was a joke. He was maybe 30 feet away and the killer was able to sneak up on the girl in the tub and bite chunks out of her neck without him knowing (laughable) and I would have preferred not seeing the killer crawling through the snow towards her (no suspense there). Then the scene where the jackasses first arrive after the main group. They were just over the top mean and nasty. It could have been toned down a little. The beginning and the end I liked for the most part. So overall I did enjoy the movie and would give it a 5.