The Legend of Sorrow Creek
The legend is that it sucks
Movie packs are a blessing and a curse. A movie pack are those dvds you see at places like Best Buy and Target that has about 4-8 movies placed in one package. These are usually movies that can't be sold on their own because they either won't make enough money or because they're completely terrible and no one would spend a dime on them. These packs usually throw in one or two movies that you would actually be interested in seeing and fill the rest with movies you've never even heard of. Welcome to The Legend of Sorrow Creek.
The movie starts off with a woman sometime in the 1800's becoming possessed by some unknown force and taking her own life. We cut to modern times with a sheriff and researcher walking through the Connecticut woods talking about the legend of Sorrow Creek. The legend goes that the woman we previously saw had actually been brutally murdered by her husband who had then set their house ablaze and disappeared into the woods. Sorrow Creek suffered many suicides and murders, leading the town to be abandoned. When workers tried to salvage building materials, 3 disappeared and one was found dead with horrible scratches on his back. We then cut to previous events before the sheriff and researcher (I think) where Kayla, Jesse, Dean, and Tobe are fishing in the same woods. Strange things begin to happen at their cabin in the woods. Strange sounds and then a lack of any sound, phones working when they're supposed to be disconnected, and sightings of unknown people. Jesse gets horrible scratches on her back, she becomes possessed and brutally murders Tobe before killing herself. Kayla and Jesse are terrorized by their mysterious foes. Will they be able to survive the night and escape Sorrow Creek?
Frat-bro Creek
Within the first 10 seconds, you already know that this movie is dirt cheap. The quality of the film is a big tip-off. When characters yell or scream, the sound gets distorted because the microphones can't handle the loud noises. Not that you're missing anything particularly important. The backstory of Sorrow Creek, with people committing suicide, the village being abandoned, and supernatural occurrences like no noise in the forest are all part of the history of a real small town in Connecticut called Dudleytown. Since the movie takes place in Connecticut, they had to have taken part of that story and thrown together this movie. It's actually nice to know a legend and see it made into a movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the story feels like a rehash of better horror movies like Halloween, The Strangers, Cabin Fever, and The Others. We've seen the trapped in the woods, surrounded by killers movie before, this one just happens to take place in a ghost town with an unfortunate name. Just like Darkness Falls and Silent Hill, the people of Sorrow Creek should have named it something nice like Fluffy Bunny Brook or Candy Land. I'd rather listen to Live's “The Dam At Otter Creek.”
The Legend of Sorrow Creek clocks in at under 80 minutes and I should feel lucky. The acting isn't particularly bad, but it's certainly not good. I know these actors are amateurs, so I feel bad for ripping on them too much. It's the writer's and director's fault for not having enough action and relying on them to carry the movie. That's not to say there isn't any action, there's just more focus put on emotion. The movie at least tries to be scary, unlike other so-called horror movies, and does a good job of holding the audience's attention.
Is this terrible movie over yet?
While by no means good, The Legend of Sorrow Creek has it's moments. If they had a bigger budget, it might not actually be that bad. Unfortunately, that's not the case, so we have to suffer through mediocre acting, cheap filming equipment, and a story that takes bits and pieces from other movies. If you get the chance, read-up on the true legend of Dudleytown. It's far more enjoyable than the Legend of Sorrow Creek.
2.5/10