Mohawk

After being an #IMDB member for over six years I suddenly chose to write a review of a movie tonight (mostly for practice), yet the sight wouldn't allow me to do that, so I'm forced to practice here. Tonight I saw "Mohawk" for no apparent reason, I simply watch a lot of movies while I work. Obviously I'm pretty lucky to have a job that allows me to do that while I fulfill my responsibilities. I gave this flick four stars out of ten, and I'd like to explain every star. The first star was for Karim Hussain for cinematography. That dude is doing a fine job. He caught my eye with "Hobo with a Shotgun" at first, but later with "Free fire" by Ben Wheatley. He had an opportunity to do some fun shots in a forest in "Mohawk" and he definitely took advantage of those. Of course, he had very little to work with - this isn't a very good movie - yet even in this situation his work at times shines. The next two stars go to Ezra Buzzington. This guy is slowly reaching that dubious status of "I don't know this guy's name, but I've seen him somewhere". There is a bunch of bit roles on his resume, notably "Fight Club" and "The Hills Have Eyes", so he could've been a bit of a princess and simply sleepwalked through this movie. Yet this guy did his job so well that I'll always remember him now. He had nothing to work with but chose to try to make something out of that. A special mention goes to Eamon Farren that some might remember from the latest incarnation of "Twin Peaks" (he played the son of evil Coop). Granted, he doesn't do anything memorable in this particular role. However he is portraying a fairly positive character, yet I couldn't help myself but dislike him the whole time, since his role in "Twin Peaks" was so good that now he is forever that evil shitbird from David Lynch's multiverse. Kudos for that. The final star goes to the director - Ted Geoghegan. Apparently he's made another movie before - We Are Still Here - but I hadn't seen it. I did just watch "Mohawk" though, and this one is a good lesson on how not to make movies. Mr. Geoghegan also wrote the screenplay and that's where most of my dissatisfaction starts. This is a story that doesn't really give us any human connection, nor does it provide any food for thought. In a case like this the audience should expect some action or horror, yet there is almost none of that. The whole thing is entirely ludicrous, and the closer we get to the conclusion the more ridiculous it becomes. So why give the star to the director? I surely understand how hard it is to get a project from point A to point Z. I barely manage to draw a six page comic at times. And the director's effort is seen in this movie. Not to mention how ambitious this project is for an indie filmmaker. This dude is definitely going to make more movies, and some of them will be good. To sum it up - don't waste your time on "Mohawk" unless you are an aspiring director. But if you do - look for the good stuff and chose to ignore the sloppiness. This isn't a big production and deserves respect for what it is.

I came across Mohawk due the fact that some siad that this was as gory as hell. Not being a horror I thought, well, scalping can be gory so give it a try.

It shows after seen it that the budget wasn't that big after all but that the money indeed went to the effects. By effects I mean, the gory or bloody stuff. But being a horror buff I can't really say that it is gory but some will be offended by the bloody mess running throughout this flick. Take the red stuff away and this flick fails completely.

The story is rather simple. Go kill the mohawks as pure revenge for the killing they did of US soldiers. That's it. Not that much of characterisation. Pure cat and mouse and a bit of weird situations with the skull apperanaces, even a bit supernatural espescially towards the end.

The killings are really welldone on part of the effects and geeks of the genre will love that but overall it moves a bit too slow and you are just waiting for the next hit.

Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

This was listed as a horror movie by Netflick. It is not a horror movie by the "conventional" means of paranoia/ghosts/random asshole murderer, but more along the lines of Heart of Darkness type horror. This is quite obvious by the tone set in the film, and the low-key music constantly throbbing like a nihilistic slasher flick.

what made this film compelling to me was its depiction of American soldiers in the war of 1812. well aware it was a very cynical and exploitative war which did not see the best of America in any real way, and depicting each American character with a hint of ugliness and griminess that is at once artistically driven while also completely believable and realistic. It would likely make more sense for the small group to mostly consist of young men with barely shaven beards, rather than the motley arrangement of human horrors we get.

The scene in which they come into contact with the protagonists, a british agent Joshua trying to persuade a local Mohican group to join them in the war against the americans, and the niece and nephew of some of the leaders, "Oak" and Calvin, who despite another reviewer complaining of Oak having blue eyes, are both played by actual Native American/Mohican actors.

Much of the film becomes a bloody hunt as the tiny detachment of American soldiers try to capture the british agent and have to deal with him and the mohawks with him.

It does get bloody at times, but it was nowhere near the level of gore or blood that would've been expected. We never get any real "gore" until the very end, and even then in a very quick, split-second shot of someone's hand split in half.

Throughout the hunt, we are mostly focused on the Americans rather than Oak and Joshua and Calvin, and as such we get to see them interact privately in a way that drops their initial "Ugly American" bravado and humanizes them in a way which makes their continued actions the more gruesome for their brutality.

but the problem is that not enough of this is actually shown, nor even really mentioned. There's a few references to off-screen massacres that had happened, committed by the Mohawks, followed by a sort of reprisal by the Americans, but we are simply not given enough in the way of building up the "journey" for this group.

They are not inherently evil, yet they are doing some inherently evil acts, and it is clearly affecting them all on a psychological level. Even Oak and her group find themselves becoming hardened to the bloodshed, but not in a way that really crosses over into that realm of "darkness" that could metaphorically push a man to become a beast.

It is a similar sort of "journey" that makes up the story of Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now, but there's really just not enough happening in this journey to fully arrive at the dramatic "turning point", so that the events as they unfold start to become repetitive, and the movie goes into its ending without much satisfaction.

I wouldn't recommend spending money to watch this film. Putting aside the lackluster acting, effects, and storytelling. Mohawk is riddled with tiny fragments of potential. I dare say the lack of budget and acting isn't its biggest weakness. Plot and pacing secure Mohawks position in the lackluster section of Indie movies.

Mohawk is a low budget indie with decent acting, good cinematography and sound; but a terrible screenplay. The actors actually do a decent job presenting the characters while overcoming a horrible script with poor dialogue and a ridiculous storyline.

This is a very cheaply made movie and, and it shows. There is a grand total of 18 total cast members, and less than half this number have a screen presence longer than 15 minutes. Costuming and makeup is a joke: The Native American characters wear modern machine-sewn clothing, and the makeup would be appropriate for a modern rock band. The screenplay is awful: Scenes meant to create suspense drag on forever and are never more than simply boring. The story's thread changes themes, and the ending is a metaphysical event that challenges even viewers who are willing to suspend their disbeliefs.

The Producer/Director is obviously interested in armaments (flintlock guns and cutlery - knives, razor blades, and swords) and the effect of these weapons when their projectiles or blades strike a human. Loading, firing and the sound of projectiles is very realistic. Special effects depicting gore are very realistic in this movie. The camera lingers over wounded characters as they bleed to death from various wounds.