June 9 (2008)

Alternately boring and creepy, stream-of-consciousness home movie about five obnoxious teens hangin' out around town, checking out some supposedly haunted places on the outskirts of their tiny little town in Ohio. These little nitwits play pranks, puke, and generally act like obnoxious teens for about 80 minutes of the footage, but the other 15 minutes of it, was very creepy, and really got to me. Something about this movie stuck in my mind, more so than its obvious inspiration, The Blair Witch Project, a film which I have never been a fan of. This film has the similar look and tone, but largely different story and ideas, of the people of a small town exacting a horrific revenge on these little pricks. When the teens first think they see something in the dark in the woods, I watched the scene again to see if there really was something there. I didn't do that at any time, for any scene, in the BWP. The twins standing by the windows, blankly staring out at them, as simple as that may be, was supremely creepy, as was the little girl's voice on the radio. And the ending was brutal, very cold. But, for all its suspense in those scenes, I couldn't help get the feeling that these were just unbelievably boneheaded teenagers who, basically, get just what's coming to them. Also unusual and unique to this film is that such a major plot twist actually takes places *after* the closing credits.I'll definitely check this film out again, which is more than I can say about its obvious inspiration, The Blair Witch Project.

I can remember when I saw the film 'REC' on suggestion from a friend and I was terrified by it. Then, a few months later, I was scrolling through a selection of movies and I found this film. I picked it out and watched it the full way through. By the end, I was in shock by what I'd seen.Bear in mind, this film isn't award-winning acting or plot, but the style in which it's executed is all but horrid, managing to flawlessly pull off the style of the late 90's, the year being 1999 in the film.-Plot- A gang of friends decide to go around from town to town causing mischief and mayhem on the locals and catching everything on their hand-held camera. What they don't realize is that the pranks they pulled off on the locals of a town called Boston Mills didn't go unnoticed and, as such, have stirred up the hive. Soon, the trips to Boston Mills become more and more bizarre, leading to the massacre of the four teens by the townfolk in a cornfield. Each teen is killed in some gruesome, maniacal way, one young woman sustained a direct jab from the rough edge of a sledgehammer to the forehead while another received repeated blows to the skull with a rock from another crazed local. Another short film during the credits reveals that the teens were carved up and fed to pigs while their belongings were stored and sifted through by the locals in a shed behind a church.The plot seems recycled from the 70's crazed killer movies, but the execution is nearly flawless. With solid and realistic acting from most of the characters followed up by a gruesome and truly disturbing ending that you thought would've been tamer, this film is truly a hidden gem in the sinking ship that is the horror film genre.-Overall- 'June 9' attempted and managed to pull off a P.O.V hand-held film that would normally go along nicely using a regular 35mm. The feeling that you get from the film is that you're accompanying these teens on some sort of adventure that is abruptly halted by a sickening ending. You watch as these four kids you traveled about with are slaughtered mercilessly and you can do nothing about it. These are nightmares that every person has when they'd watch films like Deliverance or even Jason and, for that, 'June 9' will always remain my pick as one of the better horror movies to come out of 2008.

This is an interesting low budget movie that is shot in a Blair Witch style with the characters carrying the camera around with them. Unlike the knock-offs, this movie has a different and entertaining story line. There are three teenage guys and a couple of girls who spend a few days in June driving to a nearby community called Boston Mills. There are all sorts of stories about the town, which is nicknamed HELLTOWN. They include a haunted bus, the crazy lady who killed her kids and the creepy church. Pretty much the standard legends that most small towns have that capture the imagination of bored kids. Along with visiting all the sites, they get into trouble with some of the locals, which results in some vandalism and several really creepy encounters. All of this comes to a bloody end when they return one final time to recover a missing purse.This is a very well made and entertaining independent movie that I enjoyed way more than I thought I was going to. While I'm among those that wish the first person video camera movie phase that has been popular of late would pass, this movie still sucked me in. The story is different and combines the recent trend of kids taping themselves doing the dumbest things with a horror movie. I've never seen anyone approach one of these movies this way and found it very creative. The story is filled with the sort of local legends that anyone who grew up in a rural area will immediately relate to. Of course in my case, being from Ohio and knowing something about where they were shooting, only made that more fun. Now the movie does slow down a bit and get repetitive towards the end as they keep going back when most people would have bailed, but the ending is so killer that it more than makes up for that. I also need to say that I have no idea where director T. Michael Conway found his cast, but well done. They are all young actors that in most cases seem to have nothing on their resume other than this movie. They are all very good and natural. Not once while watching the movie did I ever even notice that they were acting. This is so rare to say about an independent movie that I just had to point it out.This movie is supposed to be shot by one of the kids with a consumer video camera and looks like it was. If you are looking for well-lit, superbly polished camera work this is the wrong movie for you. Also if you are susceptible to motion sickness (like I am) you might just get a little sick to your stomach watching this movie (I was by the end). But for me, that just made the movie more effective and was part of the experience. In addition to the previous, there are also a couple of really effective creepy moments that are captured on the camera nicely. There is a bit with some night vision and a mysterious figure in the woods that was scary and another with a couple of people standing in a house staring out the windows that also worked nicely. Speaking of scary, the voice on the CB radio freaked me out just a bit.This is one of the creepier independent movies that I've seen in a long time. My big rule with movies, regardless of funding, is whether they entertained me. While June 9 had a micro budget and looks like it, I still had fun with it. I've always thought that a talented filmmaker could make a decent movie on any budget and I believe June 9 proves my point. I recommend that horror fans give the movie a chance to surprise them.

I didn't expect to like this movie... and for the first fifteen minutes I really didn't... for the next half hour after that I was on the fence... but by the middle of the movie I was pretty much into it. The thing is, the characters are presented in a way unlike how a mainstream movie would do it. They aren't pretty and they aren't smart and they aren't 'cool'... they're just ordinary bored punks wasting their summer together. You have to stick with this movie and let it move at its own pace.At first you expect the movie is, like most Hollywood movies, in love with the protagonists... selling the characters to be admirable somehow... but it really isn't. It just lets you watch them and slowly get to know them. It's so rare that a movie would take the time like this one does in letting you get to know the protagonists. Not that you ever grow to love them, the movie doesn't want you to anyway... but the kids and their abrasive behavior begin to be nuanced with their other shortcomings... and you recognize them as being like people you've known. Their initial swagger is all for show and they're really deeply vulnerable. Great acting on the parts of the main performers carried this off like no smug Hollywood 'stars' ever could have. The weakest parts of the movie were some of the townsfolk and the scattered 'FX' jump-cuts. I also think it was a BIG mistake to put the giveaway shot of the TV at the beginning of the movie... this movie needs some subtler method of foreshadowing than that. It's obviously influenced by Blair Witch, which I loved... but its got a lot of unique elements of its own that most folks are gonna miss or ignore. Some have said the violence looks 'fake' and I think that's a reaction based on having only seen violence in other movies where it's done in a more cinematic way than it is here. This isn't a particularly cinematic film... there is nothing spectacular about the violence. It's done in a very matter-of-fact sort of way. This isn't really the sort of movie that scares you much while you're watching it... but it will creep back into your mind later and haunt you... if you're patient enough to give it a chance.*SPOILER* The bits at the end with the Lisa character were most disturbing for me because, while she comes off as one of the more innocent characters her final scenes are some of the most brutal. Also, for people who are so SHOCKED!!! that there are small children present during the violent scenes... just stick to Disney movies why dontcha?