The Horseman (2008)
Directed by: Steven Kastrissios
Written by: Steven Kastrissios
Starring: Brad McMurray, Caroline Marohasy, Peter Marshall
THE HORSEMAN
Fuck me, this is a real MAN’S film. If you thought Taken, or Man on Fire were good revenge flicks, you aint seen nothin’ yet I was blown away by this unstoppable, savage Australian film, blown away and many times quite shocked. It has been spoken about as a ” torture porn” movie in parts, with comparisons to both Saw and Hostel, and those comparisons are really quite insulting. Hostel and Saw, i must say, I’m not their biggest fan, but they’re fun to watch, but not really unsettling or disturbing, or even inventive (the first Saw IS by the way). The lacked any real sense of danger, any realism. They were almost comic book stuff, too clever to ever be real and far too over the top violent to ever possibly be believable. The Horseman IS believable, and its a shame, considering the state of how criminals seem to have immunity these days, that things like this don’t actually happen.
Christian has been sent a porn tape by an anonymous person, on the tape is his daughter whom he has recently found dead. The person sent the tape after seeing reports in the paper that his daughter was raped and murdered. After viewing the tape, Christian literally goes on the rampage. Starting with the distributor of the film, he works his way through numerous bad guys, hunting them one by one to exact horrific revenge for the drugging, and rape of his daughter, which was used on the porn film. This is one angry man, but he is no superman. His anger and love for his daughter is what drives him. He’s no tougher than the guys involved, but with each kill he seems to be getting stronger and more focused. He wants them all dead!
This film is savage; the torture scenes (yes there are lots) are very necessary and very very hard to watch. He doesn’t WANT to torture these people, but no one is giving any answers, so he must. He knows his daughter went through hell before being left on the side of a road to die, and he wants the perpetrators to do the same. What i really liked here was the performance of Christian, and the brutal and realistic direction and editing. Christian is a desperate man, and it comes across so convincingly and its actually very sad to watch. Nothing matters more to him than this revenge. There are some surprises in store too, and also a very touching scene as he comes across a guy involved who actually left because he thought things were getting out of hand.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a violent film, its brutal violence, REAL violence and it’s a tough watch. But, it’s a satisfying watch, because you feel his anger, and the bad guys really are bad guys, and they are also tough guys, so you’re never quite sure how it’s all gonna pan out. I would recommend this to everyone; it is a superb revenge film that really really delivers on its promise. Just don’t eat anything while you’re watching it
Rating: 
This is one primal and ultra gritty thriller with a powerhouse performance from Peter Marshall as the avenging father. Although graphic the worst scenes are the ones that don’t show you going on. Perhaps the worst involves a bicycle pump as the tool of torture.
Please note guys and girls that this film will be showing on the Horror Channel over November 2010.