Gale: Yellow Brick Road Review — This Horror Riff On The Wizard Of Oz Moves Like Molasses & Is Atrociously Dull

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Horror movies tend to follow trends, and right now, filmmakers are putting a scary spin on familiar childhood stories. The trend really took off with the movie Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey, and has expanded to include films like Screamboat and Cinderella’s Revenge.

Daniel Alexander’s new film, Gale: Yellow Brick Road, is a take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that unfortunately misses the mark. At 107 minutes long, the movie relies too heavily on predictable psychological thriller clichés, features direction that feels pretentious rather than artistic, and stars a cast who seem lost about the film’s overall tone. The result is a disappointing and bizarre horror adaptation of a beloved classic.

Gale Crawls Down The Yellow Brick Road To The Point Of Putting One To Sleep

Alexander, making his debut as a film director, co-wrote and directed Gale: Yellow Brick Road. The story follows Emily, a young artist haunted by strange, repeating nightmares about a woman named Dorothy and her grandmother. These nightmares cause Emily to withdraw from the world and create unsettling artwork, until she finds a journal that appears to have been written by her mother.

After discovering strange writings and a number for a psychiatric hospital, Emily travels to the isolated facility hoping to uncover secrets about her family. But when she faces the unsettling director and gets caught in a storm, she begins to question what’s real as she realizes a connection to Dorothy and the magical world of Oz.

The film Gale: Yellow Brick Road seemed promising, offering a fresh perspective on the classic Wizard of Oz story by exploring the idea of Oz as a dream world. However, the script itself is a major weakness, lacking clarity and becoming overly convoluted.

The movie doesn’t spend much time developing Emily’s character before she goes to Oz, intentionally keeping her backstory a secret. Unlike Dorothy, who felt relatable and sparked curiosity about Oz with her dreamy nature, Emily feels lost and chaotic. This makes it easy to see how her perception of reality could be frightening.

Watching this, it honestly felt like the director was way more into crafting a psychological horror film like Silent Hill than actually retelling The Wizard of Oz. He really tries to connect Dorothy’s troubled mind with the state of Oz itself, making the magical land a symbol for mental illness. But, and this is a big but, it doesn’t really say anything meaningful with that connection. It’s all atmosphere and imagery without a solid point.

While Alexander and Ford deserve credit for their unique take on the story of Oz, their film, Gale: Yellow Brick Road, might have been more effective if it hadn’t tried to be so complex. Compared to the films from The Creepy Company, which skillfully balance entertainment with their source material – whether it’s the horror of Winnie-the-Pooh or the dark thoughtfulness of Bambi: The Reckoning – Alexander and Ford’s approach feels less successful.

The slow pace of Gale: Yellow Brick Road makes its confusing story even more frustrating. The first half of the movie drags on, feeling incredibly slow, and leaves you constantly ahead of the characters, wanting them to hurry up and get to the point. Without the few attempts at scares, the movie’s dullness could easily lull you to sleep.

Despite its flaws, Alexander does a great job of creating a dreamy feel in Gale: Yellow Brick Road. While his visual style isn’t quite as refined as that of directors like Denis Villeneuve or Oz Perkins, who are known for their beautiful imagery, his film is still visually impressive and rich.

This is especially noticeable in how the movie handles its special effects. Despite being an independent film, the effects are both creative and bold. While the famous yellow brick road is simple – just a few yellow bricks on a leaf-strewn path – the new character, Patches (a mix of the Scarecrow and Tin Man), boasts a remarkably detailed costume. And the flying monkeys are arguably the scariest depiction of the Wicked Witch’s forces we’ve ever seen.

It’s disappointing that the ambitious ideas in Gale: Yellow Brick Road don’t quite come to fruition. The film starts with a spooky atmosphere, but ultimately feels slow and uneventful for much of its length. The slow pace and weak performances prevent the movie’s deeper themes from having a real impact.

Gale: Yellow Brick Road is now in theaters.

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2026-02-11 20:00