Dead of Winter: The Donner Party

Dead of Winter: The Donner Party (2015)

*** (out of 4)

This made-for-TV documentary comes from The Weather Channel, believe it or not, and was originally aired over Thanksgiving Weekend since people were still munching on leftovers and of course would want to see a film about people eating flesh. The film itself has re-enactments as the great Powers Boothe narrates the story of early settlers who ended up in a fight for life and would eventually have to go to cannibalism in order to survive.

DEAD OF WINTER: THE DONNER PARTY isn't the greatest documentary out there but it certainly gets the job done in regards to giving people an education on every aspect of the Donner Party and not just the fact that they had to eat human flesh. The documentary covers earlier parts of their journey including all the things that had to go wrong in order for the group to end up where they did. We learn about various decision they made that would come back to haunt them but of course the main focus comes towards the end when they were left dying and without food.

If you're familiar with the story then it's doubtful you're going to learn anything new here. The re-enactments certainly aren't the greatest but they're at least entertaining and look authentic.

Ghastly tale of real event. Important doc. Wish I knew who narrated it.

This is a pretty ordinary docudrama about the events surrounding the Donner Party, perhaps a bit too focused on the weather per se, but as a Weather Channel production, that is to be expected. In terms of the basic facts, the program gives them to us, along with some onsite views of what life was like at that time. There are also lots of old photos.

What is missing are the human struggles, which are hinted at and occasionally referenced when quoting from the first hand accounts written in diaries. But this kind of distancing keeps us from getting involved in the central drama – the decision to eat a dead companion and sometimes family member. There is also a failure to provide adequate follow up as to what happened to those people who survived.

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.

This was a story I was only vaguely aware of, so it was interesting to learn more. Some may focus on the cannibalism aspect of the story, but it is really a small part and reminiscent of the movie Les Survivants (1993). So two stories that to the quick show what people sometimes must do. It's also reminiscent of the story of the The Essex: The True Story of Moby Dick (2000) upon which Moby Dick is based where survivors also resorted to cannibalism.