The Horseman [Blu-ray] [2008]

This film is simply brilliant, brutal but brilliant. The ultimate modern revenge film, packed with drama, tension, surprise and gripping unease. Dark and gruesome, a struggling Dad avenges his daughter with a flying hammer of a movie.

A dad avenges his dead daughter, found dead drugs in her body and signs of more abuse. It then becomes clear that his beloved girl was taken advantage of, amidst a sleazy pornographic video production circle. He seeks revenge on the gang in his fight for justice, revenge and to deal with his inner demons - an not without a few struggles along the way. All this happens, with gathering momentum as he gives a lift to a young girl.

The film is well shot, bleak in colour at times and the dramatic music all help set the scenes and mood throughout. The main actor is faultlessly superb, likeable and with his faults even more so believable and rout-able for. The beatings, fights and kills are graphic, gritty, real and fitting, adding to the dark nature of this uneasy (in all ways) revenge film. It all seems scarily real and for that it is commendable and more impressive - dare I hail it a modern triumph.

This cult gem comes all the way from Australia, probably the best if not only film since Chopper to impress this much from there or with any roots. The director, cast and crew were all unknown, it was low-budget and is quite miraculously put together on the resources they had.

A relentless visceral attack on the senses, 'The Horseman' bludgeons and stomps its way through this Australian tale of a vengeful father out to annihilate those he holds responsible for the death of his daughter, almost as a cathartic act to assist him in dealing with the seedy circumstances of her last hours.
Christian's daughter died from a drug overdose after appearing in an amateur pornographic film consequently Christian begins his journey by going to the distributor of said film, buying up all the copies available before working his way through the cast and crew of the film concerned. Very much an anti-hero in the sense that Christian kills relentlessly and performs some horrific acts of violence but it is difficult to feel anything other then empathy for the pain he experiences and displays which maintain his violence and drives him onwards.
A stunning and painful performance from Peter Marshall who plays the pest controller Christian. There is much moral ambiguity within this film. Clearly some of those slain were arguably quite peripheral figures and almost as a running mantra, under duress, the argument is given by his 'victims' that it was after all his daughters choice. Of course given the circumstances which are provided during the film this is not so straightforward and there are differing levels of culpability. Christian however seems intent on wreaking his revenge on all involved (for the most part) as if erasing their presence will erase the memory and shame of his daughters demise.
There are lots of excellent set-pieces and some really great fight sequences. The story is also broadened by the presence of a young female hitch hiker that Christian picks-up which provide many allegories and further petrol onto the flames. Very recommended for those who can see through film depictions of violence to the raw humanity underneath.

I'm a fan of the much maligned 'vengeance' subgenre as much as the next guy, but this new urban Australian drama is nothing more than a succession of horrific scenes played out with ugly cinematography, harsh language and more importantly, no let up.

The story is standard 'Death Wish' fare: When Christian (played full tilt and very well by Peter Marshall) learns that his daughter Jesse has died from a drug overdose while filming an amateur pornographic film, he finds it hard to comes to terms with the horrible truth that he has been presented with. Enraged and embittered, he sets out on a one man crusade to hunt down the people responsible for his daughter's death - using his own special brand of justice (Which to be fair, isn't something I should concentrate on with this being a family website). Just expect blood shed a plenty, scenes of torture that wouldn't be out of place in one of those 'Saw' knock offs and many a bad guy meeting their maker in a varied assortment of ways. Along the way (between the beatings, torture and general unpleasant behavior), Christian meets up with a young girl called Alice, who herself a runaway reminds him of his daughter and it is her that holds his humanity in check. Well, almost.

The movie itself is remarkably acted. Peter Marshall's Christian is a desperate character and you feel his rage, his bewilderment and pain from his loss throughout the running time. He really is that good in the movie and to be fair, its a tour de force performance and he rules the screen. Its just a shame that the film he inhabits looks so muddy, so grubby and so ugly - choosing the style and look of 'Saw' or 'Wolf Creek' and grafting that aesthetic onto this movie feels awkward and pandering to the torture porn crowd, which this movie didn't need to do and ultimately, it starts to feel tired as the minutes roll by.

Director Steven Kastrissios has done a sterling job getting such a gutsy performance out of Marshall and the film would be nothing without him. However, as all the movie is simply one dark, horror scene after another as Christian beats, tortures and punishes the people that hurt his daughter - you get the feeling that much effort wasn't put into the screenplay department. Marshall aside, the rest of the movie is largely dull and apart from men screaming as dear 'ol dad performs unhealthy acts of retribution upon them, there isn't really anything else to recommend it. Unless you enjoy watching people get tortured for 90 minutes. Which is a shame as some movies manage to tap into that side of brutality of what men are actually capable of when cornered and open your eyes to that darker part of human nature, but this film isn't interested in that so much - and more obsessed with representing what would a new 'Death Wish' movie be like if spliced with a 'Saw' mentality?

The DVD picture quality is okay-ish, but that is probably more to do with the actual film (or video!) stock than the transfer. Recommended if you like your movies brutal and of the torture porn variety, if not - steer clear. I would give it a full 5 stars for Marshall's gloves off performance, but the film is really just a 2. So, I settled on a 3. Go figure.