Excellent, smart action film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I could only watch this up to about the 50 min mark before I started skipping ahead. This isn't a horror movie. I repeat: this is not a horror movie. It could be best described as a "dramatic thriller". The acting and characterizations are bad. The plot holes are huge. This movie is excruciatingly slow. If you're a fan of gore, look elsewhere cuz there's none here. If you're a fan of suspense, look elsewhere, there is none here. The suspense is lacking because no one in the movie is ever in any danger. I bought this from my local Mart for $5 with 7 other flicks and I can't decide if I hate this or Loaded of the eight films.

I had seen "Dirt Boy" while at the Seattle Film Festival and again at a theatre showing in Massachusetts. I recently noticed it in my local video store and brought it home to watch once again.After watching the movie at home I realized the move was like reading a well written mystery novel. The movie draws you to concentrate on the narration, not just the visual to solve the mystery. The setting on Cape Cod in the winter was a great location for this story and the actors came across as real "Cape Codders".I feel the filmmaker did an excellent job with his first time project and I hope to see more from him in the future.People always say; "If you like the book you'll love the movie" with Dirt Boy it's all rolled into one.

this is an excellent movie, both in plot and in the acting. If you are into films that have a well thought out plot(rather than all the other fluff that is out there)then this is a film for you to watch. Jacob Lee Hedman is Fabulous as Matty Matthews......I look forward to seeing more from him and the rest of the crew of dirt boy.

This comedic suspenseful thriller stars some unknowns in a story about Matty Matthews, a recovering drug addict saddened by the loss of his Mother whom was killed in a terrible car accident and starting a new life as a "Crime Scene Investigator"-like student, sets off to go to a summet meeting by a well reknowned teacher. He starts his journey from New York City to a Cape Cod-ish town of Attwater Commons, home to their popular writer Attwater Bridges, author of the book "Dirt Boy"(A story within a story, SEE?). But underneath the quiet and peaceful town, a sinester secret unfolds in front of Matty that only he can solve. His actions are similar to Bruce Willis' character of the doctor in "The Sixth Sense" as he tries to have the town face the truth rather than playing cover-up as he solves the puzzle with the Books-On-Tape version of the story. What was surprising to me is that the director used every location and story so eliniquently and deeply moving, you won't, AND I MEAN WON'T, want to get out the movie chair! I saw this movie at the Seattle International Film Festival's last day of showing movies ( aka Sunday, June 17, 2001, aka FATHER'S DAY). I found that the other characters in the story, aka Attwater, the police man, the teacher, and the kid, etc. etc. expect the living survivor, don't let Matty explain himself was really cute and funny, it makes seeing thrillers with ease. At the end of the film, there was a little Q&A from the director, who brought insight to his creation and was suprised when I said, "If I was a critic, I would put this film as a working director's idea of "The Sixth Sense.", to which everybody cheered (Hense my summary title, HEE HEE!! "_") You won't find this in a major movie theater yet, but check it out if the movie comes to a film festival near you! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!