The Frontier

I just finished watching this, I gave it a 7 due to the great way they filmed this, you swear it's a film made and set in the 70's, the grainy look, the set, the music, everything even down to the 70's kinda storyline, cars and clothing, extremely well done, even at the end the music score sounds if it's from the 70's.

Nothing new as yeah everything has been sort of done, but the cast is solid, simple but effective story line, but a rare sort of film that fools you thinking its years old.

7 out of 10

And here is some text so IMDb will publish my short review.

I think this was actually a very good film! I wasn't expecting much, but it's one of those films that don't appear to have a promising plot at first, but then it grows on you through the good acting and the steadily increasing suspense!

I just love the way Laine evolves as a character, or rather how we as viewers change the way we see her as the movie goes on... Very fine piece of characterization!

Some crime thriller taking place in a run-down motel off some desert road doesn't sound like a big deal, but this IS a very good suspense thriller, with a lot of unexpected plot twists! It had me at the edge of my seat for most of the second half. It's not the setting or even the events themselves that make for a GREAT film, it's the way they get to us as viewers, and this film really got to me :)

So I'd recommend this film to all lovers of suspenseful, unexpected thrillers :D

A gritty American Southwest flick, The Frontier manages to capture a western outlaw atmosphere in a rustic wind blown environment.

A pretty, mysterious girl named Laine driving across the Arizona desert becomes temporarily employed at a diner to make up for food & lodging. The residents and customers therein are a motley lot, each with their own disturbing secrets, and each sharing a collective one as well. There's Eddie the rebel {a brash leather-clad young man reminiscent of Jim Stark/James Dean}; couple Gloria & Flynn are a British gentleman & a Jayne Mansfield-type girlfriend; Luanne, an eccentric former showgirl {diner owner, glamorous yet quite neurotic}; Lee is a stony bearded professor-like gentleman; & Officer Gault comes and goes, reminding one of a William Shatner character*, who takes a shine to Laine, especially evident in the end. Incidentally, despite a very close call with The Reaper, Laine merges with the unlikely crew of malfeasants awaiting their ill- gotten reward, utilizing venomous trickery to gain her own deadly remuneration.

With various unexpected twists and turns, the dangerous path throughout The Frontier leads to surprise lethal treasures awaiting those with a ruthlessly lawless disposition, where few survive. ∞

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* i.e., Mark Preston of The Devil's Rain, Rack Hansen of Kingdom of The Spiders.

Oren Shai knows his archetypes, and plays brilliantly with them in this film-literate, paperback movie, artfully constructed with a wonderfully enigmatic central performance by Jocelin Donahue, playing a role similar to Nic Cage in RED ROCK WEST. The comparison is one that kept popping up in my mind. Both titles suggest Westerns but are in reality dusty, Southwestern Noirs, Both have the lead stumbling into a criminal scheme and then creating their own. Similar, also, is Shai's film to John Dahl's follow-up Noir, THE LAST SEDUCTION, in which we follow the femme fatale, instead of the tragic male.

If made in the 90's, like the aforementioned pictures, I think this would be enjoying a wide-release right now. It clearly has the skill behind it. Shai is a beautiful stylist, creating the timeless palate of a decade never mentioned, but most likely the 70's, given the cars and wardrobe. However, the actors put their spin on movie stars of decades previous. There's Kelly Lynch doing her version of Gloria Swanson, Richard Harris doing his Errol Flynn, and Jim Beaver doing a Lee Marvin. Beaver stands out as the strongest.

As much as the film portrays a slice of Americana Pulp, there's something almost European about the execution. It bypasses the luridness of the genre, and instead focusing on the lead, Donahue; photographing her lovingly, magnetically, like a muse, with long contemplative zooms. She has never looked better. And although we never fully learn about her character, she brings her inherent likability to it. She can be the Margot Kidder of our generation.

Although it starts rather seriously, there is a streak of black humor laced throughout that begins to escalate, climaxing with a delirious shift by Kelly Lynch. I suggest watching with an audience to bring out the potential camp.

Oh, and it's shot on 16mm. What else do you want?

Oren Shai's The Frontier is a slick Americana genre throwback, that truly makes me pine for the good ole days.

I was lucky enough to catch this film at SXSW, and it was glorious to watch on the big screen. Shot on gorgeous Super 16mm with wardrobe and production design that leap off the screen like a pulp novel come to life.

Laine arrives at The Frontier motel on the run from her problems, and she encounters a cast of characters with their own secrets to hide.

Jocelin Donahue is superb as Laine, the girl on the run who uses her wits to stay one step ahead of everyone. This is truly a demanding role that she excels in, as she's on-screen for virtually the entire film. If this were a pulp book, I'd gladly read the next 10-20 episodes of her story.

If I watched this in a drive in I'd have a hard time not thinking that I've gone back in time to 1974. So forget whatever tentpole blockbuster schlock that you're going to pay exorbitant prices to see at the local megaplex. Instead, let's turn the dial back and settle in to watch interesting people, behaving badly.