You might need a stiff drink to get through “October Country,” but it may only send you over the edge. The film was created as a portrait of a working-class family over the course of a year from one Halloween to the next. Their lives — and their ghosts — are heavily examined as they have been affected by drugs, teen pregnancy, domestic abuse and even war.

As a collaboration between director Michael Palmieri and photographer Donal Mosher, the photography and camerawork were beautiful, but the family’s story was depressing and not a whole lot else. It feels like someone just filmed the neighbors down the street, only with better equipment than your average home video camera.

Mosher filmed his family following four generations and showed how they relate with each other. Don and Dottie are the patriarchs of the family and they have a foster child living with them who is anything but trustworthy. You feel for Dottie while she firmly believes family is everything and tries to keep everyone together. Don is a Vietnam vet who has definitely been scarred by the war and his past as a police officer.

Some of the most upsetting footage is of the 11-year-old granddaughter, Desi, who is much more mature in her understanding of life around her than she should be. Where it might be beneficial to be this self-aware, it seems as though the whole family has been forced to grow up too fast. Teen pregnancy with marriage to an abuser crosses generations as the mother, Donna, sees her own daughter, Daneal, following in her footsteps of poor choices.

The tone is melancholy, and life in this town seems so gray. There is little eye contact from the interviewees, but every once in a while you get one good shot and it seems you can see into their soul and feel their pain.

Flashbacks of Daneal growing up shows a sweet, innocent little girl who is loved by her family, and it is almost more heartbreaking than the current footage of a custody battle with her abusive ex over her daughter.

It’s hard to decipher what exactly the filmmakers were trying to achieve. The family is depressing overall as the grandparents watch the downfall of their eldest granddaughter. It’s not that the film is bad, it just doesn’t seem to deliver any real message or story. Is it there to educate? Is it there to bring awareness of some sort? It doesn’t seem that way. At the end of the film, you see Desi understanding the life her sister and mother have chosen and seems to be learning from it.

The most that you can hope for in this film is that she does change the pattern for herself and make some better choices. She’s a quiet star in the midst of a terrible storm.