Yellow Brick Road
by Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton
I like bizarre movies that can't be fit into a particular classification. Films like Resolution and Lovely Molly come to mind. They aren't supernatural, slashers, or even alien films, weird stuff happens with no explanation in plain sight but if you read deep enough you'll find it. I find these to be the most entertaining because it fits outside the box and it's hard to pinpoint the end of the movie. So, it was no surprise that YellowBrickRoad initially would appeal to me.
Sometime in the 40's, the entire town of Friar, New Hampshire just got up and walked down a trail. Most people were found deceased, however, the rest were never seen again. Teddy Barnes and his wife Melissa launch an expedition to discover what happened to the locals all those years ago. The group, however, could not find the trail that all those people walked. So, they decide to inquire within the town to get some answers. They stumble across a movie theater where they meet Liv McCann, she offers to take them to the trail in exchange for her joining them on the expedition. While hiking the trail, old music starts playing throughout the entirety of the woods at deafening levels. Then, slowly, the group begins to go insane. They are even driven homicidal. However, Teddy insists that they must press on and discover what happened to the residents of Friar.
I can only describe this move as, "What"?
I know oldies music blaring can be maddening but I don't think it would drive me to kill anyone. I also know that if I were hiking with a GPS and it was telling me I was in a bunch of different locations all over the world I would cease the hike. If something happens and I can't give proper coordinates to call for help, that would be just stupid. However, in horror movies, nobody makes rational decisions because then there would be no movie. Overall, the movie gets ridiculous but it's ridiculous in an enjoyable way. I mean, I've never seen someone get their leg amputated with a rock before. I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be funny or serious though. I chuckled but I felt like it was the only time in the movie where that happened. (My gut instinct tells me that wasn't supposed to be funny but what can you do?)
The ending gives some implication of what happened to the remaining people from Friar back in the day, nothing concrete though. I had a hard time picking up on what was actually happening. I mean I could understand what was happening but not why it was happening. The explanation as to why the people of Friar even journeyed in the first place was mentioned only once. It was speculated that they were trying to escape from the horrors of the nuclear bomb but that was never touched on again. Logically, that doesn't even make sense. Yes, nuclear weapons did cause people to live in terror for a long time. However, an entire town collectively travelling into the woods without supplies or preparation to find their own emerald city doesn't make sense. There has to be something more, the town was pretty much abandoned at the drop of a hat. Sadly, we never know.
Then, I wanted to find meaning in the movie's final scene, but I can't figure out what the message is. It's quite a disappointment. I've looked up some other interpretations of the movie but I haven't found anything tangible. One I read suggested that it was some anti-industrialization message but I don't really agree with that. However, the directors stated the ending is intentionally vague because it's not about the end, it's about the journey. They did imply that the fate of each character was based on what the character desired. Which I guess fits in with the Wizard of Oz theme. In that movie, Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion reached the Emerald City to find what they were looking for. They learned that by the time they arrived that they already had what they desired most and they had the journey to thank for that.
I disagree with the anti-industrialization theme from above because of an analysis of the film from The Rural Gothic in American Pop Culture by Bernice M. Murphy. She proposes a subgenre of horror, which she refers to as "Rural Gothic.” In rural gothic people often venture away from civilization and lose themselves in the process. That was pretty much what YellowBrickRoad was about, people go into the woods and are driven completely insane. Notable other examples from this subgenre include The Shining and The Blair Witch Project. With the mentality that bad things happen in the woods, you can't also have the message that industrialization will be the fall of mankind. The two thoughts are completely conflicting.
If what the directors said was true and this movie is really about the journey, then it was enjoyable. However, don't expect to have any of your questions answered. (I really hate not knowing though!) They could've given us something to stop us from questioning what's going on and what this movie was trying to say. I would like to eventually see a more thorough breakdown of this movie one day. I definitely want to uncover the hidden message at the end of the yellow brick road.
Billy Wayne Martin, HMS