Dead of Winter: The Donner Party

It's tempting to fill this review with Addams-esque wisecracks. They'd be justified, because "The Weather Channel started it!", with ads announcing that "Dead of Winter" would premiere Thanksgiving weekend! I laughed my head off. In that context, simply to say "Donner party" is in bad taste.

I expected a conventional dramatic film, but "Dead of Winter" is a "dramatized documentary", with the (mostly silent) actors mirroring the narration and commentary. It's restrained, with The Disgusting Stuff Everyone Tuned In To See limited to appropriate moments. Parents should be aware that people are shown cutting flesh from corpses, then cooking and eating it.

The Donner tragedy is usually attributed to careless planning (at best), or utter stupidity (at worst). But the experts give the party the benefit of the doubt. Donner and Reed used the best information they had. Most of the party * acted with courage and compassion.

Production values are high, and the excellent script (unlike this review) avoids cheap exploitation. "Dead of Winter" is worth two hours of your life.

Those interested in a less-sober view of cannibalism might enjoy Trey Parker's "Cannibal! The Musical", based on the Alfred Packer incident.

* One member of the party was a murdering SOB straight out of a John Meston "Gunsmoke" script.