(2008)
Directed by Steve Kastrissios
Starring Peter Marshall, Caroline Marohasy, Brad McMurray, Jack Henry, Evert McQueen, Christopher Sommers, Bryan Probets, Steve Tandy

When this movie first arrived on our desk for review, we had never heard of it or it’s director. Sometimes that can be a scary thing, since some of the films might be severely lacking in quality or talent. But every now and then it can be a good thing, since you’re going into it completely fresh and unbiased. With The Horseman, the film starts off with a punch and never lets up.

The basic story is about a man who goes searching for the pornographers who he believes is responsible for the death of his young daughter. Shortly after her death caused by drug overdose, he receives a package in the mail of a porn tape that features his daughter. He then sets out to find the people involved. One by one, he finds them, beats and tortures them to get leads on the next guy involved, and then kills them. That’s pretty much the whole plot of the movie, as he makes his way up the line.

Sure, it’s pretty easy to get behind this guy and what he’s doing. With flashbacks of him with his daughter when she was about 6 or 7, it’s easy to have those heartstrings yanked and to get you on his side. No parent alive wouldn’t be. So they do use a pretty heavy handed method of getting you to side with the protagonist, which really wasn’t needed. The difference here is that like a lot of these vigilante movies, our hero here is not some suave talking stone cold killer. He’s a grieving father who has lost his daughter and wants the people responsible to pay for it. Even at the cost of his own life and soul.

The film starts off with a bang right at the beginning, before we even know what the story is. With the use of flashback sequences, we start to learn the story and what has happened so far. The film moves at a good pace, and never lets you rest for too long. There is plenty of tension and suspense, especially near the end of the film and we’re not really sure how it’s going to turn out. A happy ending? A major downer?

One big difference in this film compared to some of the more Americanized style is the violence. It is never really glorified. It’s not some flashy martial arts Steven Segal spectacular. It’s shown as dark and nasty as it can get. It’s bloody and it’s messy. And while there were plenty of chances to go overboard on the scenes of torture, director Kastrissios shows us just enough to get a mental picture, and lets our imagination do the rest. That can be way more effective.

Some sequences seem as if they were filmed in black and white, or where most of the color was bled out. There is also very little, if any, music in the film. This makes it more real than if we were watching Charlie Bronson take out more street thugs in any one of the Death Wish movies.

The film does have a weak point. While the story is well written and highly believable, it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. As we stated, it’s pretty easy to get behind this character, no matter what dreadful things that he is doing. These are evil people, so they deserved what they get. The main character is an inconsolable man who has lost his child due to horrible circumstances. So it does follow the strict black and white feel to the characters, with no real shades of gray. While the film plays well, it shows a little lack of being able to go beyond those black and white boundaries.

Of course, we also have to make mention of the possibly religious meanings or message here. Our main character is named Christian. The movie is called The Horseman, possibly in reference to Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? But the rest of the movie doesn’t seem to be overly preaching in any sort of way. So not sure if these are just coincidence or what.

The acting in here is pretty strong and very believable. Peter Marshall does an excellent job as Christian, who works in “pest control” (nice touch there, guys). He portrays this tormented father who will do anything to find the people responsible for the death of his daughter.

For his directorial debut, as well as being the writer, editor and even producer, Kastrissios shows great promise in films. He shows us a great sense of style, with his camera work, the look of the film, showing the bleakness of some scenes, but also high lighting the colors in others. If you’re looking for a revenge flick that is more gritty and realistic, then you’ll enjoy this dark ride.