Ah, “The Blair Witch Project.” Now a canon for budget horror filmmaking, whether we like it or not. Some people love the film, some people utterly despise it. I love it, personally, but I’m always very weary at budget films that copy the formula. This concept is very difficult to mimic. Sometimes it comes off well, and sometimes we have nothing but a bunch of dipsticks running around with a camera screaming like morons, sans the tension and suspense. I can count the number of films that achieved this formula on one hand, and surprisingly, “June 9” did it right most of the time.
Granted, I was never debating with myself if “June 9” was real or not. It just doesn’t have that sense of impromptu realism that the aforementioned title possessed. However, it’s difficult to ignore the tension from the beginning. “June 9” is a take on the famous urban legends based around the town of Boston Mills where the village established in the 1800’s is said to have numerous tales behind it. Satanic cults, trees that move in the forest on their own, numerous ghosts, a government cover up that involves the satanic cults, mutants, and a chemical spill that supposedly caused a mass evacuation, it’s all there, and all of it has drawn a humongous base of followers anxious to try and find out the truth. “June 9” chronicles the exploits of a bunch of teenagers who, after school lets out for the summer, goes on a road trip looking for pranks and funny footage.
They taunt other travelers, egg people, and even catch people having sex. But after a weed induced rant with a friend who tells them about the village, they decide to find out for themselves. Conway’s “June 9” relies on slow and rather tight tension that mounts as the film progresses. The deeper the group goes into the town, the heavier and creepier the incidents are. And admittedly, I was spooked the entire way through. Conway’s film is heavily reliant on visuals where CGI and easy gore can not do the work. The sight of twins standing still as stone, or the sight of trees obviously moving their limbs of their own will is something that really ends up sending a chill up one’s spine in the end. Ultimately, “June 9” would have worked better as an hour short. Because, in its present form, it tests the patience of audiences, and will likely cause a rift. Some will love this, and some will just plain hate it.
The film is twenty minutes too long. The rest is based around nothing but the group of teens running around playing pranks. What are the odds of coming across numerous funny moments on the road in real life? I didn’t buy it. They stumble on a couple having sex, a weed bushel, throw eggs at signs, break into houses, and even play pranks on one another. What’s the point of this, when the characters are utterly interchangeable, and aren’t even established beyond their basic frame of genre archetype? One mumbles “I don’t know about this, guys,” one screams a lot, one goofs off, one is the basic geek, one is determined to keep the others focused, and then there’s the hapless camera man. And “June 9” doesn’t sell the hook as well as it should.
The explanation for the legend that sets up the film is possibly the most drawn out and dull sequence I’ve seen in a while. I just didn’t know what the hell was going on, and even after the explanation, I had to really read up on the legend to get the point of the film, and when you can get more out of a website that debunks the legends, than from a pot smoking character who basically lays out the hook for the audience, it’s a bad sign of lacking storytelling. “June 9” borrows heavily from “Blair Witch.” There are people running and screaming with the camera, the group hearing noises outside, and even children’s voices emanating at some point.
Give me something new here, Conway, I wanted something original from this great legend. Nonetheless, “June 9” is a morbid glimpse at the legend of Hell Town, and it will surely draw many to attempt to discover what lurks in the town. Does “Hell Town” have truth to it? Who knows? But “June 9” is an interesting take on the precautions of trouble making teenagers and pure evil. Both go hand in hand, as well. Hey, I’ll admit it, “June 9” is not a perfect film. It’s too long, the padding is obvious, and it borrows from “Blair Witch,” but fuck is it ever a creepy movie. Some films just can’t catch the budget mockumentary formula, but “June 9” does it well. It’s morbid, it’s spooky, and shit was I ever glued to my seat.