Parents' Guide to

September Dawn

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Massacre movie casts Mormons in villainous light.

Movie R 2007 110 minutes
September Dawn Poster Image

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As the awkward, Romeo and Juliet-esque plot element suggests, September Dawn is overwrought and poorly structured. The too-easy opposition between Jonathan and his indoctrinated brother Micah (Taylor Handley) leads to hugely emotional but unconvincing conflicts.

The massacre is rendered in slow motion, with dead babies and bloody girls strewn everywhere, and the Mormon killers cast as the equivalent of modern-day terrorists. Although September Dawn may be attempting to draw a parallel between Samuelson's dedication and that of a certain U.S. administration, his story remains muddled. Samuelson is so resolutely demented that it's difficult to know exactly where to start blaming him.

Movie Details

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