Dead of Winter: The Donner Party backgrop image
Dead of Winter: The Donner Party poster

Dead of Winter: The Donner Party

2015 • 1h24m Documentary, History, Horror

Popularity

3

What starts out as a voyage to the West in pursuit of the American Dream quickly turns deadly for the Donner party after a series of bad decisions and severe weather. Trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, this group of nearly 80 settlers fell prey to sub-zero temperatures, torrential rainfalls, extreme heat, and ten-foot snow drifts. Punishing storms trapped the party with nearly no food or shelter for 5 months in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Many died, some succumbed to cannibalism to survive, and others delved deeply into their faith while waiting to be rescued. “The Donner Party” explores this exciting journey through a hybrid of first-person narration, remarkable reenactments, expert interviews, CGI, and archival materials.

Details

Director

Doug Glover

Screenplay

Raymond Bridgers

Cast

Powers Boothe

Darby Hinton

Kim Lankford

Release date

11/27/2015

Status

Released

Origin country

US