The Horseman (2009)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

hyped garbage

Fresh and Exciting

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Having watched a plethora of good films with high ratings of 6-7 out of 10 recently I felt that I needed to comment on this film; it is out of the ordinary, extra-ordinary, if you like - fantastic acting, realistic action and a sense of realism that is lost in so many films today. It hits the spot in every way 10/10 ! Revenge and vengeance in a raw, real and honest way.The score is perfect, the direction is crisp, the acting is gritty and natural, no silly one liners and pointless dialogues, everything that is said and done is done for a reason, a good reason and it works, every time.Yes there is violence but it is not the tiresome inane stuff, the violence contained within is much like the whole film it is tense and dramatic in every sense.This film makes you appreciate how good a film can be, regardless of budget or the lack of "big name" actors, though there is certainly no lack of acting talent here.Well worth the watch !

The Horseman, a product of Australian cinema, is simply an amazing piece of work; it is a grim and stark journey. Centring around the aftershock of the death of layman Christian's (played here by Peter Marshall with astonishing composure and calm, and too, his first major lead role in a movie) teenage daughter from a drug overdose, her somewhat voluntary involvement in an extremely seedy part of the sex industry and the progression of a father's wrath and bloodletting fury of revenge and retribution.It's a reflective look into the plight of an anguished father and the road trip he must take to find the parasites that took a part in the exploitation of innocence and the poetic justice one must serve upon the guilty.The subject matter is done with a scent of finesse that holds an air of admiration and respect for this guilt-ridden father, he's nasty, he's mean but he's also driven and director, writer, producer and editor Steven Kastrissios, along with cinematographer Mark Broadbent, and in particular the stunt department, have shown, once again, that Australian cinema is a tour de force to be recognised, and respected.With its magnificent and complex fight sequences, tight direction and empathetic undercurrent, the overall tone is not done to the extremes that it may seem an overdose of violence for the sake of violence. Not for one-minute does the slaughter, both visually and physically, feel too contrived, it may be a harrowing experience, and journey too, for the viewer, as too the father who has now crossed the line, but its pacing between each bloody action brings the film back to the point of honesty.We are left viewing, literally, on the edge of our seats as the plight runs a wry and we are constantly left unknowing as to what may happen next, and to whom and how. It's all an adrenalin rush of mixed emotions of revelation, sympathy, disgust, shock and compassion, such is the power of the delivery of Steven Kastrissios's work here.Transcending beyond the blurred sanity, The Horseman is a brutal reminder of a subculture that tests the morals of those who dare to question its ethics' and looks into the mind of those who have found the answer; crossing boundaries and finding new strengths, it's a rude wakening that in the murky mist of illicit brutality, at times even the wrong answer may be the only alternative.

Not a western but a current era movie from Australia -- one of the most brutal, and most rewarding, films of the year. It deals with a father who's lost his daughter to the forces of the pornography business, and what he does about it.The man is not a karate expert, nor is he Special Forces, nor does he look like Steven Segal, nor does he own a gun. A blue collar worker of average build, he uses the skills and resources he has, along with his absolute determination to effect justice. There's much to be said for the power of a man who is truly fearless of pain. Along the way, he meets a troubled teen named Alice and he will try to fix her as well.If you ever mention pornography to a Liberal, expect a reaction similar to using the N-word, a shrug-of-rejection brush-off. Yet Liberals (here in the USA) worked tirelessly for 25 years through the ACLU and other organizations to assure absolute freedom of the porn industry to flourish in America.Indeed for 20 years they've been free to publish anything and everything (as our Founding Fathers obviously intended as a prime goal of the Constitution, so they say). Not only without legal interference, but with generous postal subsidy. Now they've "advanced" from pictures of semi-nude girls (the norm in '73) to "models" having simultaneous intercourse with 3 men at one time (the norm today).The makers of this film are obviously angry. They have good reason, I think.

It's a very rare revenge flick that's willing to explore what can happen if the often ill-informed protagonists go off the rails in their quest. It's even rarer one that's actually willing to acknowledge that what starts out as a quest for righteous retribution can end up blighting innocent lives. Truth to tell, I've never seen a "revenge" film that goes nearly far enough in this direction for my liking; I'm still waiting to see the story of a revenger who goes off, accidentally kills completely the wrong people and then discovers his mistake when *their* furious loved ones track *him* down.The Horseman isn't that ideal revenge movie, but it nevertheless gets points for its willingness to go into the territories of moral confusion previously explored by disturbing noirs like Memento and Irreversible. It also gets points for its willingness to show the squalid, despairing nature of a quest for revenge, a process in which the meting-out of "justice" is secondary, and the venting of the perpetrator's crushing grief and choking rage is primary. The lead playing the revenger brings out these elements beautifully, and manages his character's transitions from bewildered numbness to insane fury -- and finally to horrified desperation in the final act as he belatedly realizes what his antics have led to -- skilfully and convincingly. His performance, and this overall context for most of the film's brutal and graphic violence, puts The Horseman a cut above the "torture porn" genre of films like Saw and Hostel, to which I've seen it (unfairly) compared in some reviews here.There were the makings, then, of a low-budget classic here. So why only a 6? Unfortunately, the Horseman proves once again how hard it is to craft that all-important final act. The climactic encounter with the scummiest of the scum who'd originally been in our semi-hero's sights gets off to a promising start, but it drags through such a ridiculous number of reversals and increasingly over-the-top Feats of Superhuman Bloody-Mindedness from everyone involved that by its end it's more cartoonish than a pro wrestling match. This is a shame, but hopefully the director will be able to build on the good and steer away from the absurd in future efforts.