Fern Hill

Starring: Daniel James, David James, Myles Bruce, & Mackenzie Harden

Director: Cole Claassen - Rating: NR - Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Fern Hill is one of those super independent, diamond in the rough films, that you'd be lucky to ever hear about. That's why I always recommend using features like IMDb Watchlist or rating what you watch on streaming sites! By doing so, you will receive suggestions for films you may never otherwise have known about, and that's how I found Fern Hill. The film follows Colin (David James), who's father's plane went down eight years ago. One night Colin has a dream that the answers to what happen to his father lie in a distant part of the Colorado wilderness known as Fern Hill. Along with his three best friends, Colin embarks on a mission, to go out into the wild, and find out what really happened to his father. Fern Hill is a very toned down version of Stand By Me, instead of bodies and guns you get haunted houses and strange loners living in the wilderness. It is most definitely a child friendly film, but at it's core, it's still a terrific coming of age story. All the kids have their own issues that bind them together and their own reasons for wanted to escape on this journey, leading to some terrific chemistry and character development. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this film however, is that all four boys are local children and were not in fact actors. Many of them haven't even done anything since this film, making for a very unique cast that feels more real than almost any other coming of age film you will ever see. I also enjoyed the way it was shot, as a low budget independent film, there is nothing flashy, fancy, or overly edited. Fern Hill is just an extremely real, enjoyable, feel good film, with scenes that will take you back to your own childhood.