The Numbers Game

Rockwell Falls

Over the long Labor Day weekend, my wife and I found ourselves sifting through tons of films on Amazon Prime and Netflix hoping to find one that we might enjoy.  We settled on  Population 436, a 2006 Canadian/US production that just so happened to be the film directorial debut of Michelle MacLaren.  You may not recognize her name, but you definitely know her work.  She’s directed multiple episodes of some of your favorite television series such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, and Westworld, to name just a few.

Penned by Michael Kingston, Population 436 is a fairly entertaining but highly predictable flick about a census bureau researcher named Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto of Clueless, Six Feet Under, and Wrong Turn) who ventures out to the tiny town of Rockwell Falls where the community has always had a population of 436 residents.  What he finds is a town where the numbers really don’t add up when it comes to the friendly folks that call Rockwell Falls home.

Kady pops two of the tires on his vehicle while entering the town, and is given a ride to the mayor’s office by a local deputy name Bobby Caine (Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit).  Despite appearing friendly on the surface, Kady begins to notice that the citizens of the town all act as if they have something to hide.  He gets to know a few of them including Courtney (Charlotte Sullivan of Rookie Blue), a lady that he is attracted to and that Bobby quietly loves as well.

Kady starts making connections between the town’s obsession with the number 436, the Bible, and numerology.  He also starts uncovering some of the secrets of the town and sets out to see what is really going on with the citizens.  Many of them seem to have fallen ill with a fever that the local doctor has been treating for years.  There’s also an entire family that has apparently gone into hiding due to the fever.

Things eventually come to a head at a festival in Rockwell Falls.  The festival is held “whenever necessary” throughout the year and Kady gets to witness what happens at the festival firsthand.  He then attempts to escape town with Courtney and a young girl named Amanda who loses her father in an accident at the beginning of the film.  You’ll have to watch the film in order to find out what happens next.

The movie is okay.  MacLaren’s future potential as a director squeaks in at moments.  I can especially see hints of her work from The Walking Dead coming through at times.  The movie is a slow burner with only a few moments of action here and there.  If you’ve ever read or watched a version of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, you’ll quickly pick up on what’s going on in the film.  In fact, my wife and I figured out what was going on in the opening sequence of the film.  That doesn’t mean that the story is a bad one, just predictable.

The cast does a pretty decent job.  Sisto carries most of the film but receives excellent support from Sullivan and multiple character actors such as Peter Outerbridge, Rick Skene, and Monica Parker.  The real treat is Fred Durst who, despite his over-the-top personality in real life (especially during the big years for Limp Bizkit), manages to do a pretty good job of playing the tenderhearted and somewhat quiet deputy Caine.

Population 436 is not a great film.  It would definitely work as a television movie which isn’t a surprise since its director has made her bread and butter in that realm.  I still enjoyed it, though, and if you ever find yourself huddled up in the house on a rainy day, you might want to check it out as well.

Thanks for reading my post.  This little indie flick was a nice treat.  Hopefully I’ll find a few more flicks like this one in the future.  I’ll be sure to let all of you know what I think about them as well.