Small Town Conspiracy (2002) User Reviews

Great Plot Line... Too Bad script wasn't

[Rick1948 · 4/10 · 9 November 2003]

I saw this movie at the Daytona Beach Film Festival and I must say it was not a pleasant experience due to the quality of the projection and sound system. Nonetheless, the film needed quite a bit more work on its editing and script writing. I understand the Producers and Director had a very limited budget, but more effort could have been put into bringing this film to a conclusion. The ending seemed way overacted and not very suspenseful. Except for W. Morgan Sheppard, the acting was not much better either. Keep trying Mr. Clemente. You can use this film as a base towards improving on your next.

Finally!

[seatick13 · 18 December 2011]

While Googling "Florida City" I ran across the resurrection of this film, now renamed "Small Town Conspiracy". It sounded like the movie filmed in my old hometown of Center Hill. I watched the trailer and the first scene of a Main Street circa 1940's made me sit up in amazement! There it was!!! Center Hill's Market Street as it was dressed for the movie when it was filmed there! In the second scene I saw both of my daughters as they were used as extras during the parade scene. I immediately contacted them and within a few minutes my oldest had found and purchased the movie online. She was very pleasantly surprised to see herself back when she was a teenager, and my other daughter was a 9 year old! The movie looks very interesting, we love period pieces such as this and best of all, it takes us back to the day when Center Hill became a movie set and everyone there was a "star"! Can't wait to view this and thanks to whomever finally made this available to the public! By the way, Center Hill's Market Street is ~still~ a ghost town, now with fewer buildings and none of them occupied.

Good try, but just awful

[surfnwavs · 1/10 · 2 April 2006]

Viewed this at a film festival here in Daytona. Anyone who rated this higher than 5 stars were definitely involved in the making of the film. The fact that one of them was from Orlando should tell you something considering that is where the filmmaker is from. The lead role couldn't have been worse. I saw a comment say Zen Gessner was flawless....my god it was just terrible. Zen should never be allowed to have more than a line or two. In fact until this movie and since I don't think he has. The idea was good, but the acting and script were lacking. Avoid this unless you see it in a dollar bin at WalMart and even then you might want to pass.

The Worst Movie Ever Made

[oidarman · 1/10 · 27 April 2007]

The only thing that kept me watching was the hilarity. They must have gone to a mall and just signed up the first 10 people who said "yes" to the question:"Hey how'd you like to be in a movie"? The photography was glaring,too bright. The sound very unbalanced and the music did nothing except blare! The props all looked "new" in an "era" film. The guy who played the lead must have been told: "do your best Eastwood", he did, and it wasn't. And why did he constantly contort his mouth? The script had no continuity. There were scenes that had nothing to do with the, pardon the expression, plot. Most hilarious of all was the fight scene. The tag line for this movie says "In Peral Harbor, no one saw it coming. In Florida City, one man did". The writers missed the mark. The story was all over the place and never came together to make an ending to live up to the tag line. In legit film schools, it will become the best example of how to do EVERYTHING wrong when making a movie.

Well done and realistic

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 13 August 2012]

There has been quite a lot of talk recently and a major book about FDR knowing in advance about Pearl Harbor and letting it happen in order to get the country involved in the WWII. This is an interesting look at the cover up in action in the few days before the attack.

Zen Gesner plays an alcoholic small town sheriff who isn't up to handling the first murder in the small town in Florida. His struggles and mistakes along the way are quite interesting and it shows how difficult it is to investigate a murder properly. When a young Japanese woman in found murdered, he stumbles into a conspiracy to cover up knowledge of the attack. Just wonder if all of it really did happen.

The cast isn't very well known but they are competent. Overall worth a watch because of the fascinating subject matter.

Unbelievable...in a good way!

[yakh25 · 10/10 · 8 September 2003]

I recently saw this movie and I loved it from start to finish. The story, the characters, even the scenery was incredible...why this movie isn't a #1 box office hit is beyond me. I do not want to give anything away, but I highly recommend, even insist, that everyone see this movie. It makes one think about history and current events in a totally different light. The budget for this film was $750 000, but it looks more like a $90 million picture, missing only the CGI and big name actor to sell it to the masses.

Zen Gesner (playing the lead role of John Haleran) was flawless. In fact, all of the characters are so realistic you feel like you know them by the end of the movie, and remember them long after the credits roll.

Director Ralph Clemente has told an amazing story and successfully takes viewers to another time in America.

I often feel cheated when I see movies at the local theater, but if Florida City were playing, I'd pay double.

A hit!

[mnm112487 · 9/10 · 30 September 2007]

This movie should be seen by anyone who was effected by Pearl Harbor...and since that is everyone than everyone should see it. Forget any problems you may have with some of the acting, simply focus on some of the points it raises. did the govt. know about pearl harbor and let it happen to launch us into the war? it really gets you thinking and it is still relevant now with all the questions surrounding the war with Iraq. The filmmakers have done a well balanced job of raising these questions but not exactly answering them for you, which in the end makes it all the more poignant. for the relatively small budget they had to work with they certainly got some bang for their buck, but it seems that a bigger budget version of this story could be very effective in todays more political society.

Well done off beat little story.

[wmorgs · 9/10 · 18 April 2003]

Good and interesting off beat story line. How "little people" are drawn into a web of conspiracy, on the periphery but never fully understanding the enormity of the conspiracy they are involved in. Excellent production values, a great sense of period, and great care went into the making of this film. A slice of Americana recounted with care and affection. Well acted, and well told by Ralph Clemente, a director with a good eye.

Too bad this movie never made it....

[gryffingurl · 17 January 2007]

...to any kind of media available to the viewing public at large. This movie was filmed several years back in the tiny "ghost town" of Center Hill in Central Florida and used many of the town's residents as their extras. Everyone from miles around the rural locale came out to line the streets and watch the filming of this movie. The kids got a first hand experience in how movies were made and we all had fun watching the "silent" parade come through town!! Seeing the abandoned Main Street come alive and the stores "restored" to how they must have actually looked back in the 1940's brought an eerie quality to the town. For several years some of the set dressings left behind remained in place in the windows of the empty stores and many pictures were taken of Market Street. I kept in touch with several of the people who worked on this movie throughout the years but unfortunately, as I understood it, the movie was never bought by a major company so I never got to see it.

The kids who were extras are now young adults and older teens, and the town of Center Hill remains as it was when used in the film...a ghost town...