The Horseman

Imagine a stylish, modern, ultra-dark and gritty re-run of the Liam Neeson actioner TAKEN, made on a tiny budget in Australia, and you'll be close to THE HORSEMAN, a film that takes visceral action to new levels of extremism. In a nutshell, the film's about revenge: a grieving father discovers that his daughter appeared in a porn film shortly before her death and goes to track down the men who coerced her into it. He wants nothing more than to beat their brains in with a crowbar, and that's exactly what he does.

So far, so par for the course when it comes to exploitation. Where THE HORSEMAN wins plaudits is in its intensity: there are a series of brutal action sequences as pulse-pounding as those in the Bourne films and the script never lets up when it comes to anger, sadism and vengeance. The performances elicited from an unknown cast are very down to earth and realistic, particularly Peter Marshall's depiction of a grieving father seeking revenge.

The violence is extreme and also realistic, often gratuitous. I feel the film oversteps the boundaries of taste at the climatic torture sequence, which delves into sexual violence unexpectedly and left me feeling sickened; it's clear that HOSTEL was an inspiration for this sequence and I can't help but feel that the film would have done better without it. Still, aside from this misstep, THE HORSEMAN hearkens back to the gritty downbeat revenge films of the 1970s, where lack of budget and scope was never a problem for a filmmaker with a dark story to tell.

Peter Marshall plays a pest control technician and revenge driven father who tortures and kills men who are responsible for the death of his daughter.The girl died just after shooting a threesome in an underground gonzo porn film."The Horseman" by Steve Kasrtissios is one hell of a brutal revenge thriller.The scenes of violence are extremely harsh and unflinching.The film is loaded with nasty fights and sadistic torture.The people are beaten with crowbar,claw hammer,sledgehammer,throats are slashed,genitals mutilated and nipples severed.The finale is incredibly violent.The central performance by Peter Marshall is exceptional.His wounded character oozes grief and retribution.9 crowbars out of 10.

A very low budget Liam Neeson-ish revenge thriller on steroids. A pissed off dad goes on a crazed killing spree against dirtbags who may/or may not have been involved in his heroin-addict daughter's death. Hard to feel sympathy for the protagonist and get invested in the story because the script clearly lays out that his adult daughter made very poor life decisions that lead to her demise. She overdosed and choked on her vomit, there wasn't foul play. As for the the filmmaking itself, The acting was passable, nothing special. The film looks and feels very indie, low budget which I guess adds to the grit the movie was going for. The violence was touch and go, some scenes it was fully shown while others the it was off screen.

Christian is an everyman forty something pest controller, grieving over the death of his drug addicted tearaway daughter, found dead in mysterious circumstances. One day however, he receives a video tape through his letterbox. Upon playing it, he sees it's a porn film. A porn film starring his daughter... So begins a brutal, gritty and at times bone crunchingly violent odyssey of revenge, as Christian proves himself quite implacable and merciless when it comes to dispensing his own brand of justice on those he deems responsible for his grief. Yet, this is no simple ra-ra revenge driven film. It's just as much a study in loneliness and grief as well as a blistering revenge film, and has some rather poignant scenes, such as his tentative friendship with a young runaway hitch hiker. Also, NOBODY does scum quite like Australia, and to any Australian readers, believe me this is a compliment.

The Horseman is excellent-savage, grim, bleak yet touching. 9/10, one of the best revenge films I've ever seen, and that isn't something I'd say lightly.

Highly highly recommended for any fan of revenge films or horror. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

First off, this film isn't going to appeal to everyone. It features graphic violence (most of it unseen) and a quite mundane plot that plods along. However, if you are a fan of old 70's and 80's exploitation films then you are in for a real treat. The story follows a man, who has been sent a video of his recently deceased daughter in a porn film. She's smacked off her t*ts and obviously isn't a willing participant. He takes it upon himself to track down all copies of said film, and anyone involved in it's making...And destroy them! This is gritty stuff. With little to no soundtrack, there is almost a documentary feel to it. It really makes you ask the question: What would you do? Although the plot isn't at all similar, it has the same kind of realism to films like the underrated 70's classic 'death weekend' and 'The Last House on the Left'. There is real drama here and characters that you truly root for. I hope this little gem doesn't slip under the radar because there are a lot of film fans (myself included) that have been waiting for this type of film to come along since the early 80's!