A grieving Father decides to hunt down those involved in his daughter’s drug related death in this brutal 2008 drama from Australia, which caused quite a stir on it’s release due to the graphic nature of the violence on-screen.
After viewing a sex tape featuring his daughter Christian (Peter Marshall) systematically tracks, traps and tortures all those implicated in it’s production and distribution. Along the way he picks up a teenage hitchhiker struggling with her own issues.
The carnage is interspersed with memories of Christian’s introduction to Fatherhood, moving moments show the Father and toddler daughter playing in their garden but unfortunately these tender scenes are too few and far between.
The film suffers by concentrating on the terrible vengeance wreaked on the bad guys, It could have been an altogether different story had it made more of the powerful emotions involved.
Overall this is still a decent tale of revenge but the final third gets a bit silly when we see a battered and broken Christian still managing to fight off the villains and escape all manner of dangerous situations.
The Horseman is widely available on DVD and various movie channels etc.
Ric’s Rating: 68%
After viewing a sex tape featuring his daughter Christian (Peter Marshall) systematically tracks, traps and tortures all those implicated in it’s production and distribution. Along the way he picks up a teenage hitchhiker struggling with her own issues.
The carnage is interspersed with memories of Christian’s introduction to Fatherhood, moving moments show the Father and toddler daughter playing in their garden but unfortunately these tender scenes are too few and far between.
The film suffers by concentrating on the terrible vengeance wreaked on the bad guys, It could have been an altogether different story had it made more of the powerful emotions involved.
Overall this is still a decent tale of revenge but the final third gets a bit silly when we see a battered and broken Christian still managing to fight off the villains and escape all manner of dangerous situations.
The Horseman is widely available on DVD and various movie channels etc.
Ric’s Rating: 68%
So it focuses more on the actions rather than the internal conflict and motivation?
ReplyDeleteShame. Sounds like with a little more attention to the internal stuff this could have been a strong movie.
ReplyDeleteI like those movies who imply that vengeance is not an easy decision. That it's an impulse that comes from the near-destruction of the inner self. I know you had mixed feelings on that, but it looks right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good film guys, I'm confident that you'd all enjoy it. I just felt it lacked a bit on the emotional side of things. Good film but could have been better.
ReplyDelete