Brigham City

Brigham City (2001): This is another good example of the high quality of some indy films. Made in Utah by real Mormons, it is the story of the sheriff of a quiet Mormon community (who is also the bishop of his stake) who is bearing his own cross and is confronted by the arrival of a serial killer in his midst. Richard Dutcher put the picture together and also takes the lead as the limping sheriff. Wilford Brimley is probably the only recognizable actor but all the cast give excellent performances. The cast starts to be reduced and a couple of hot shot FBI agents drop into town to ‘help’. The sheriff hopes the problem will go away and the young deputy is all hot to get involved in his first big case. This is not your typical serial killer movie and spends a lot of time involving you in the community so that you care about the people there. Many scenes occur in church during service, unusual for this type of film. You can also see the ‘Eden’ like quality of the town and the ‘invasion’ of this Eden by the serpent. Beautifully shot in the Bee Hive state, this is a good rent for a dark night. By the end of the movie, you will really care about a lot of the people in town. The movie is rated PG-13 for: excessive kindness, trash seen by the side of the road, some houses in need of paint, treeless hills, and oh yes, I almost forgot…MURDER!