Andrew McMurtryREVIEW - The Horseman (2008)
Rating: $9.50
Tense and unflinching, The Horseman is everything you’d expect from a hardcore revenge thriller. Set in Queensland, it follows Christian (in a commanding physical performance by Peter Marshall) seeking retribution for the drugging and rape of his only daughter on a porn video, culminating in her murder. We first meet Christian brutally torturing and murdering an accomplice to the shoot. And it doesn’t hold back, as Christian beats, tortures and murders his way through the hierarchy of a gang’s porn syndicate until he gets to the top. It’s ultimately a revenge story in the same vein as Taken and Edge of Darkness.
While it seems like just another revenge story, Christian develops morality and guilt about what he has done, even though these are the men who killed his daughter. As he travels down this dark road, there seem to be contemplations of suicide because he feels he has nothing to live for as a divorcee whose only child has been killed. That is until he meets a drifter girl named Alice (Caroline Marohasy in her film debut) and begins to see her as a surrogate daughter who he must protect as she is dragged into his mess.
While the overly timid script is a big let down, the story is reasonably fresh. It’s fairly easy to understand the motives behind Christian’s actions and compulsion for revenge, but the savagery with which he commits murder makes you wonder if he is a good man.
The Horseman is very raw and gritty, thanks to a tiny shooting budget of $80,000, which works in its favour. While the action is a little too choreographed and the script is unnatural and uncomfortable, it maintains great suspense throughout the film. A shaky camera keeps the film rough and gives it a typically Australian feel. For a feature debut, it is a tremendous accomplishment for writer/director/producer Steven Kastrissios to do what he has done with this film.
Tense and unflinching, The Horseman is everything you’d expect from a hardcore revenge thriller. Set in Queensland, it follows Christian (in a commanding physical performance by Peter Marshall) seeking retribution for the drugging and rape of his only daughter on a porn video, culminating in her murder. We first meet Christian brutally torturing and murdering an accomplice to the shoot. And it doesn’t hold back, as Christian beats, tortures and murders his way through the hierarchy of a gang’s porn syndicate until he gets to the top. It’s ultimately a revenge story in the same vein as Taken and Edge of Darkness.
While it seems like just another revenge story, Christian develops morality and guilt about what he has done, even though these are the men who killed his daughter. As he travels down this dark road, there seem to be contemplations of suicide because he feels he has nothing to live for as a divorcee whose only child has been killed. That is until he meets a drifter girl named Alice (Caroline Marohasy in her film debut) and begins to see her as a surrogate daughter who he must protect as she is dragged into his mess.
While the overly timid script is a big let down, the story is reasonably fresh. It’s fairly easy to understand the motives behind Christian’s actions and compulsion for revenge, but the savagery with which he commits murder makes you wonder if he is a good man.
The Horseman is very raw and gritty, thanks to a tiny shooting budget of $80,000, which works in its favour. While the action is a little too choreographed and the script is unnatural and uncomfortable, it maintains great suspense throughout the film. A shaky camera keeps the film rough and gives it a typically Australian feel. For a feature debut, it is a tremendous accomplishment for writer/director/producer Steven Kastrissios to do what he has done with this film.
