June 9 (2008)

(Screener Copy)

Directed by T.Michael Conway


Written by T.Michael Conway


Stars:  Jon Ray, Trevor Williams, Maggie Blazunas, Alasha Wright and Chad Vincent

Ahhh.... my favourite sub genre of the moment – the found footage horror flick. June 9 was shot in 2008 and is the product of Director Tim Michael Conway and a film that I eagerly sought out once I heard of its existence.  Through talking to Tim, a genuinely lovely guy, it turned out that the movie had sadly never received its official, and planned, DVD release. It has however been shown on cable in the United States and I see that it now also has a pay per view option on Amazon.com now so lucky viewers stateside can get their mitts on this movie – I therefore recommend that you do so now! Tim was nice enough to send me a copy of a movie which I am ever grateful for – I just hope it gets an official DVD release soon as it’s an unsettlingly creepy and very worthy entry into the sub genre.

Based around a group of five mischievous friends, the movie follows a summer spent playing pranks on passer bys (and each other) while driving around town. Boredom eventually leads the group to darker territories when then they happen upon the town of Boston Mills, nicknamed ‘Hell Town’ by some. Here the group’s fun loving nature is not at all appreciated by the odd folk who reside there, and it’s this lack of appreciation boiling over into something darker which is the key focus of the movie.  Several creepy moments fairly early on are just small teases of the bloodshed to come. There is a very unsettling sighting in the woods at night, an intensely creepy CB radio message and the most terrifying house break scene you will have seen in a movie of this kind yet.  Nothing of note happens to any of our main characters during this sequence but it really does beg the question of what might have been and also what were those other people doing in that house?  It’s a downright chilling sequence and certainly stays with you.

The end of the movie brings the horror in spades and those viewers, who felt short changed by the Blair Witch Projects climax, should find plenty to enjoy here as the kids pay violently for their intrusive behaviour. Turns out that one of the girls missing purses really wasn’t worth retrieving. The ending is a jaw dropper indeed; it’s completely brutal, uncompromising and disturbing. Watching teenagers killed in such a loving way by the perpetrators really serves as a true horror movie event.  On the back of the ending I would love to see some form of sequel or maybe even prequel that goes into more detail about the townsfolk of Boston Mills and their motives and ideals.

A really solid entry into the found footage sub genre and a huge shame that it’s not *yet* more widely known.  I can’t wait to see what Tim Michael Conway might come up with next, he clearly knows what scares us and I hope to see many more great things from him.