MOVIES: Population 436 (Michelle MacLaren, 2006)

A direct-to-DVD thriller which generates more tension than I'd expected from an overly familiar plot and setting.

Our hero is Steve Cady (Jeremy Sisto) of the US Census Bureau, who's been sent to Rockwell Falls, Kansas, to investigate an odd anomaly: In every census for more than 100 years, the town's population has always been 436. Steve has trouble finding the town, and the locals in surrounding towns are oddly unhelpful, clamming up as soon as he mentions Rockwell Falls.

When Steve does find the town, it's a quaint, wholesome little village -- it's not called Rockwell Falls for nothing -- where everyone is content in that slightly glazed Stepford way, and where everyone is busy baking pies and sewing quilts for the town's upcoming festival. Everyone's polite, friendly, and helpful -- at least on the surface -- but there are clearly Dark Goings On in Rockwell Falls.

There's not an ounce of surprise in the movie; from the opening scenes, it's clear how Rockwell Falls maintains its population so precisely, and the scene meant to be the big shocker -- in which the town honors the woman chosen as "Festival Host" -- will come as no surprise to anyone who's read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."

But as familiar as it all is, the movie does create a suitably shivery atmosphere. Sisto is quite good, in an unusual role for him; he usually tends to play the disturbed and creepy roles himself, so it's a change of pace to see him as the normal guy at the center of the weirdness. There's also a sweet, low-key performance from Fred Durst (yes, the guy from Limp Bizkit) as Deputy Bobby, who becomes Steve's best buddy during his stay in town. The performances from most of the villagers are a bit flat, but that's not altogether inappropriate here; the particular darkness afoot in Rockwell Falls is somewhat cult-like, so people might be less likely to display much individual personality.

Population 436 is a bit old-fashioned -- little strong language, one very mild sex scene, no gore -- and its R rating seems a bit harsh. Fifty years ago, something like this would have been labeled a B-movie, and you'd have seen it as part of a double feature, a warm-up for the big movie on the program. Yeah, it's hokey and cheesy and predictable, but within the limits of its story and genre, it's well crafted and skillfully made, and it's kinda fun.