Population 436 was a point of interest for me because of its main plot line. The idea behind the film is definitely intriguing, and I've got to say that I did want to discover the mystery behind the film; but the plot is also the film's biggest problem. Writer Michael Kingston seems too content to let the film simply wallow in it's central idea rather than building it up, so what we're left with is a movie with a rather dry final third, as it soon becomes obvious that it's not going anywhere it hasn't gone already. The plot is fairly original in itself; but the handling isn't, as most everything about the film reeks of Herschell Gordon Lewis' classic 'Two Thousand Maniacs', only without the bloodshed. The plot focuses on Steve Kady; a man that works for a census-taking agency. He is dispatched to a small town called 'Rockwell Falls' in order to investigate why their population has been at 436 for the last hundred years or so. While there, several instances transpire and our man soon finds out that the town of Rockwell Falls isn't quite right; and the reason why the population stays the same is more than a coincidence.
At first, I thought the reason why the residents of Rockwell Falls have opted to keep their population at 436 was so they wouldn't have to change their painted sign, and actually; the real reason isn't too far away from being that drab. The film starts off with a woman giving birth, inter-cut with a scene that sees a man killed in a car accident. I guess this would be a pretty good indicator for most people as to why the population stays at 436 right from the off, and the film makes a habit of not keeping it's cards close enough to it's chest as heavy hints are dropped often and by the time it gets to actually finding out the mystery, you already know. However, in the film's favour; it does feature an amiable lead performance from Jeremy Sisto. Sisto made his best film with 'May', and since then has also starred in that Dead and Breakfast rubbish, and some American TV shows. Population 436 is directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, a director that has only worked on TV shows prior to making this; and it shines through, as the movie never feels any more ambitious than your common TV movie. Overall, Population 436 is not essentially 'bad' - but it's not very good either. Feel free to skip this one.
At first, I thought the reason why the residents of Rockwell Falls have opted to keep their population at 436 was so they wouldn't have to change their painted sign, and actually; the real reason isn't too far away from being that drab. The film starts off with a woman giving birth, inter-cut with a scene that sees a man killed in a car accident. I guess this would be a pretty good indicator for most people as to why the population stays at 436 right from the off, and the film makes a habit of not keeping it's cards close enough to it's chest as heavy hints are dropped often and by the time it gets to actually finding out the mystery, you already know. However, in the film's favour; it does feature an amiable lead performance from Jeremy Sisto. Sisto made his best film with 'May', and since then has also starred in that Dead and Breakfast rubbish, and some American TV shows. Population 436 is directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, a director that has only worked on TV shows prior to making this; and it shines through, as the movie never feels any more ambitious than your common TV movie. Overall, Population 436 is not essentially 'bad' - but it's not very good either. Feel free to skip this one.