Horsemen (2009)

Perfect cast and a good story

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I like Dennis Quaid I really do and I know that actors make films with the best intentions an cannot be held responsible for the final product, but his performance in Horsemen was as mixed up as the film.As the opening credits unwind during the opening reveal of cult carnage the words 'produced by Michel Bay' did make me shudder but I convinced myself all would be well. The Rock was a good film after all. How wrong I was.I also read after having watched the film that it had endured extensive re-shoots. I did not need telling but was grateful for the confirmation. The thing is, if this was meant to be a better version that the original, then how bad was the original?The story about a series of murders being committed in a manner which mirrored the Horsemen from the Book of Revelations is convoluted and patchy. Quaid and his side kick Clifton Collins Jnr. wade through the crimes failing to make any clear headway until one of the victims daughters reveals herself to be one of the Horsemen. The daughter is played by Ziyi Zhang who at no point passes for a teenager even though she does her best to do a sucky thumb performance but seriously a 30 year old playing an 18 year old is a stretch especially for a limited actress like Zhang.The set pieces for each of the murders are quite well staged but the film is so shabbily edited that there is no fixed reference point within the film for the viewer to empathise with or for.I read that this film debuted straight to DVD in the UK and US. Says it all really. Use your time better and go wash your hair.

A cheap rip-off of 'Se7en', 'Horsemen' (because '4our' would be too obvious) is about a widowed detective (Dennis Quaid) dealing with a serial killing that apparently has to do with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.It is all in there. The macabre killings in order to make a point, the religious modus operandi, even the 'society is evil, we live in a world of crap' underlying message, are just some of the 'similarities'. The revelation of the killer is different, true, but it is such an obvious and idiotic plot twist that it would be better just to copy 'Se7en' again. However, unlike its 'source of inspiration', 'Horsemen' is devoid of thrills and boring to no end. Its message is also terrible and poorly thought, like everything in the film. Full of plot holes too: The killings are done through suspension rigs which nobody saw coming and going between the murder scenes? And the 'explanation' the vendor gives for not caring who it was sold to!? How did Quaid not notice the white room for so long? And how the **** can the killer's plot change anything at all!?One scene scene stood out to me. About a medical savant, apparently very intelligent 'but' gay boy killing himself in front of his non-supportive, prejudiced brother (after TORTURING him) to prove some kind of point. That was such an stupid thing, it was maybe the very lowest the movie got.The cast is as terrible as everything else. Dennis Quaid is unbelievable as the grieving detective, and the way he acts (if you call that acting) when with his sons or anyone else is absurd. Ziyi Zhang, a 30 year old who plays an 18 year old girl, is not only unbelievable as a teenage girl (and that was before I found out her real age) but also as a psychopath who tries to come off as a mix between John Doe and Hannibal Lecter; she is laughable. Quaid's son is as bad, and only Clifton Collins Jr. manages to do a decent job but his character is so irrelevant it makes no difference at all.I was not too surprised when I saw Michael Bay's name as a producer. Anything he touches tend turn into crap; he is almost magical in that sense.

Horsemen has a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it in. Given the fact that what it ultimately wants to say is nowhere near as compelling as it thinks it is, the film turns from intriguing to unwelcome guest with the flick of a switch. What's so aggravating is that it starts off so well and sets you in for a nice little police procedural/murder mystery. Unfortunately, director Jonas Akerlund and writer Dave Callaham don't like those kinds of movies. As they parade a cast of recognizable actors playing dead end characters across the screen, you start to realize why this was shelved from theaters and plopped down in straight-to-DVD land. Poor Dennis Quaid. It could have been a spine-tingling chiller in the tradition of Seven and Silence of the Lambs, but instead it belabors an overwrought message to no fanfare whatsoever. What it tries to accomplish is not earned in its woefully short running time where other superior thrillers are just getting going. This film is full of woulda coulda shoulda and it's a crying shame. The only positive is seeing Dennis Quaid in a good lead role, but it's wasted in spades.

I loved the idea of Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and I thought the film looked decent with atmospheric lighting and camera angles. However, despite the great premise Horsemen of the Apocalypse never lives up to it.The acting is unfortunately not very good, Dennis Quaid I do like and I thought he was ideal for the role, but he doesn't have much to work with and sadly with a disconnected performance he lets that fact show. It doesn't help with the characterisation either though, it is woefully underdeveloped quite often.I wish there wasn't more but there is. The story had a great idea no doubt, however it is in structure disjointed and the sluggish pace and derivative direction further hamper it. What really sinks the film down is the script, which is really inane and cliché-ridden to the point it is barely bearable to listen to.All in all, there was a good movie somewhere but this was a perfect example of a film that never lived up to the promise it had. 3/10 Bethany Cox