Expected more

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

For what it is, The Horseman is not a bad movie.That being said, I felt like the filmmaker couldn't really make up his mind as to what kind of movie he wanted to make. Horror? Thriller? Action/Revenge? Exploitation? Drama?There's a little bit of everything thrown in here.I think this movie would have been a lot more enjoyable in terms of entertainment value if the director just kept it campy rather than trying to justify the violence with superficial emotional nuances...I don't know, I just felt that for an action film it was kind of pretentious.

The Horseman starts with our hero, played by Peter Marshall, dressed in what looks like a cable repairman's uniform, walking up to a home and knocking politely on the door. A man answers, and the two greet each other curtly. A second later we see Marshall beating the man's face in with a crowbar.The brutality of "The Horseman" is probably the one thing that defines it more than anything else. It's a film we've seen before, and depending on who you talk to, we've seen it done better. The plot is classic noir revenge; Marshall's daughter is drugged, then raped, then killed. Marshal decides he will kill every person involved, and he does so brutally, not at all like the calculated way Denzel Washington or Liam Neeson took revenge in Man on Fire or Taken. He does so with the type of brutality we'd expect from such a dark and foreboding poster.What "The Horseman" does deliver, though, and in a higher amount than its moral or lesson, is the atmosphere. The film is shadowy and dark, and makes no one look attractive or appealing. Instead, we are given a raw, evisceral look into Marshall's character's head, and how he has lost any sense of happiness since his daughter's death. The brutality once again let's the audience see into Marshall's lonely, vengeance-driven soul.We are not given anything we have not seen before, though "The Horseman" is certainly worthy and dark entry into the noir-revenge genre. I approve.

The Horseman is a great revenge thriller with the courage not only to raise moral questions about what its protagonist is doing, but also to show violence in all its ugliness. It features an excellent performance by Peter Marshall, and some genuinely creative torture methods.Marshall's character has just lost his daughter to a drug overdose. From an anonymously mailed DVD, he learns she was involved in a porno shoot just before she died. This revelation sends him on a brutal rampage directed at everyone who participated in the shoot.What sets this film apart from most other films in this genre is its moral ambiguity. The filmmakers do not shy away from the bloody results of the protagonist's violence, and as several characters note, it is made clear that the daughter voluntarily participated in the shoot. Marshall's performance reinforces this aspect of the film, as even he comes to have doubts about what he's doing.The film does slip somewhat in its final third, as the filmmakers resort to a typical action ending, with a final confrontation with the most evil pornographer of all. However, this does not detract from the overall quality of the film.

Watching this film my mark was a solid 6 it does drag in places but after watching the making of on the DVD extras I gave it another 2. The money spent on this film was practically nothing the crew were students working for free and the director is a young down to earth guy. The actor in the lead role was quality and watching the action back it's on par with anything the South Koreans are turning out. It's a tiny film but it packs a punch I'd say it's very sadistic and brutal but not torture porn as the guy does what any father would do if he has nothing to live for. The sound editing is partly what stopped it being great but watching how it was made I have nothing but respect for the people involved. I urge you to watch it and then the making of and make your own conclusions... 8/10