If you've spent enough time watching the indie horrors that appear so frequently on Netflix instant, you'll know by now that only about one in three of them is watchable. Not good, just watchable. Donner Pass is one of the watchable ones.It's basically a tame slasher movie with a spin on the Wendigo myth thrown in (but don't expect something as good as "Ravenous"). It's elevated above the usual crowd by decent acting and direction, a restrained pace, and an interesting rape/revenge subplot. One thing I very much liked was that when the bad stuff did start going down, the characters made some pretty logical decisions (such as attempting to dig a car out of snow while the others stand guard post with weapons at all four corners). It's always a welcome relief when you don't have to shout "as if you would do that!" at the screen.Unfortunately, like with so many films of this ilk, the character writing is where it fails. Yet again we're introduced to a group of bickering twentysomethings that I have a seriously hard time believing would ever come together as acquaintances let alone friends. Each character never gets past the standard slasher stereotype - the bitch, the jock, the bad boy, the nerd, and the blank canvas final girl. And worse, most of the characters are so horrible that you never get invested in their wellbeing, which makes every death scene at best empty and meaningless and at worst, a relief.For any would-be indie horror film maker reading this, I implore you to take this simple formula to heart: "Make a character *we can like* and then put them in danger".It really shouldn't be hard but almost once a month I see a film where crappy characters are the principle flaw in an otherwise solid horror movie. If only we lived in a world where the first thing they taught at screen writing school was "how to make the audience give a damn".Rant over, back to the movie: Donner Pass is well made enough that, if you can get past the characters, it is worth watching. The subtle supernatural slant seems to rub a few viewers the wrong way but I actually enjoyed it more because of it (mundane slasher flicks bore me). I give it props for some intelligent plot decisions and for having a bit more of a grown-up feel than many tween-targeted slashers. It's not great, but it's worth watching. 5/10.

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.

Overall the movie was really good. I only watched it because I really like the Donner Party Story and because I don't read synopsis I assumed this movie was about the original story. I was mad when the first 5 minutes were very wrong about the actually events. When it turned out it was a horror movie based on the events I was willing to give it a chance.It turned out to be a really good lower budget with good actors and an unexpected plot twist. For a movie in it's class the acting, casting and production value was excellent. Overall a good horror movie for any one who enjoys them and I would definitely recommended it.

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.