Potter's Ground

Well now, this is not what I expected. This certainly is a mixed bag of genres, and dare I say I believe it mixed pretty well.

This is probably the type of movie I've been waiting for: an action adventure fantasy western horror drama thriller. That might be a mouth full, but this film really surprised me. The film features really good performances, good dialogue, good cinematography, and an eerie and foreboding atmosphere. We have cowboys, Indians, good guys, bad guys, skin walkers, monsters... I guess this won't satisfy everyone's palate, but I was thoroughly entertained.

We follow three officials in search of pieces of an amulet that - according to legend - contains a map to a city of gold. These pieces are scattered, and the only person who knows where they are, is Doloroas, whose ancestors created the amulet, so she's along for the ride as well. On their journey, they stumble across more unsavory characters than they can handle, and their every move is a fight for survival.

I love treasure hunting movies. Now add the Western adventure element and I'm in heaven! I really loved this. If you're looking for an old-fashioned Western movie, though, this is not it. This is a very different kind of Western, so you're either going to love it or hate it.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

It just is. There's almost just as much good to be had from this film as there is bad. The cinematography and writing are both on point, especially for a reportedly low budget movie like this. This seems like an impressive team of people and I would like to see what they do with a larger budget.

The problem comes from the acting. The seeming antagonist does a decent enough job throughout and so does the woman who tags along with the heroes, but everybody else is hit or miss. I know it can be difficult to find good actors on a budget so I don't want to hold it against them too much but it does bring the film down to a 5 from what could have easily been a 7 or 8.

The pacing goes in and out too but is mostly consistent in quality. I state again that this is an impressive low budget movie and I would like to see what they do with more.

Recommended, but cautiously.

Umm what did I just watch? It's not sure what it is, but I sure know it's not good. The lack of budget is evident, and the story is just shallow and somewhat bizarre.

POTTER'S GROUND looks like a horror flick from the cover but it turns out to be...well, I don't really know what it is or what it wants to be. It's a dark western about a group of cowboys looking for buried treasure, but they end up trapped and attacked by forces unknown. It's one of those very low budget productions that takes place mostly at night, which cuts down on budgetary costs. The dialogue has an ear for the era and the costumes are okay, but it's a pity that they're all wasted in a film where very little of note happens at all. That makes POTTER'S GROUND quite the yawner, and not one I'll be recommending...

Boring episode of Deadwood meets The Goonies. No likable characters. Same story has been done before and way better.