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Wisconsin Death Trip

Play trailer Poster for Wisconsin Death Trip Released Sep 14, 2001 1h 16m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
The late 19th century finds the town of Black River Falls experiencing a wave of disturbing, macabre and truly eccentric occurrences. Perhaps the town's economic troubles or the harsh Wisconsin climate contribute to the plague of murder, arson, insanity, disease, suicide and other ills the cursed citizens endure. Part archival investigation, part dramatization, this film resurrects the demons of Black River Falls through bleak photographs and re-enactments of the town's sordid news articles.

Critics Reviews

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Jack Mathews New York Daily News Marsh's film alludes to the poor economy of the former mining town but has little else to say about potential causes or motivation. Marsh just piles the events on, as if there's black humor in their sheer volume. Nope, just a big boring pile. Rated: 1/4 Mar 3, 2014 Full Review Jonathan Foreman New York Post The main problem with Wisconsin Death Trip is the way the format distances you from the subject matter, so that stories may shock, but they never move you. Mar 3, 2014 Full Review Nathan Rabin AV Club Wisconsin Death Trip chronicles, in bleakly funny vignettes, the marathon of perverse, violent, and frequently inexplicable acts of violence and insanity that gripped the seemingly cursed Wisconsin town of Black River Falls during the late 19th century. Mar 3, 2014 Full Review Ken Fox TV Guide Crisply photographed in black and white by cinematographer Eigil Bryld and extremely violent, it's the hellish flip-side to Little House on the Prairie. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 3, 2014 Full Review David Sterritt Christian Science Monitor Required viewing for anyone who thinks the modern media created the social ills that accost us so frequently today. Rated: 3/4 Mar 3, 2014 Full Review Matt Langdon Filmcritic.com Chances are you have never seen a film quite like Wisconsin Death Trip Rated: 4/5 Feb 16, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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william k Unusual documentary doesn't focus on a singular case or phenomenon, but rather lists up a whole series of unusual deaths creating a gloomy and morbid atmosphere all of its own. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie does justice to the book that it was based on. It has great filmography, pacing, acting and voice over. It could have been an hour longer, or even a multi-part series, and I would have watched it all! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a cool film based on the book of the same name. It's technically a documentary about Black River Falls, Wisconsin late 1800s & the strange string of deaths that befell them. However, along with the archival pictures & newspaper stories, reenactments are added in to enhance it. The main narrator is tremendous but the narrator for the insane asylum segments made a distracting & annoying choice to whisper everything. All in all, its a good film, but not really notable & never supersedes the book. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member A biography of a town written through deaths & madness... haunting & darkly comic. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The fact that the events told on this film were taken out of a local newspaper of the time adds to the feeling of authenticity that plays around with the audience's fascination with dark and mysterious true events, some so unbelievable that could be takes for urban legends. There is an aura of mystique and supernatural about the whole thing, an aura that deepens the tension as the events unravel at a fast pace. Adding to the appeal is the stunning and stylish black and white photography with which Marsh tells the tale, which is very meticulous and effective in keeping the viewer glued to the screen. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful imagery, but I found it...slow. I guess that's how I'd describe it. Some sections really pulled me in, but the music and Holm's narration made this quite drawn out. The title of this is the most shocking thing about this. Pass. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Wisconsin Death Trip

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Movie Info

Synopsis The late 19th century finds the town of Black River Falls experiencing a wave of disturbing, macabre and truly eccentric occurrences. Perhaps the town's economic troubles or the harsh Wisconsin climate contribute to the plague of murder, arson, insanity, disease, suicide and other ills the cursed citizens endure. Part archival investigation, part dramatization, this film resurrects the demons of Black River Falls through bleak photographs and re-enactments of the town's sordid news articles.
Director
James Marsh
Producer
Maureen A. Ryan, James Marsh
Screenwriter
James Marsh
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 14, 2001, Limited
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 24, 2004
Runtime
1h 16m