Into the Badlands

This movie is a bit of an odd duck - it is sort of like an episode or two of "Twilight Zone" masquerading as a western. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that the various story threads in the movie never get developed to their fullest.

However, what this movie lacks in the way of compelling story development, it more than makes up for with a very rich, absorbing Old West atmosphere. There is just something about the feel of this film - the photography, the costumes, the weapons, the Old West sets and real western locales (New Mexico), the expressions on people's faces... Call it a victory of style over substance... In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the "look and feel" of this movie from start to finish. Watching the movie, there were more than a few times where I felt myself being transported back to a different place and time. I just wish the rich story development of a good western-genre movie such as "Unforgiven" (1992) with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman, could have been woven into "Into the Badlands," as that would have completed this film and would have ultimately made for one very awesome Western movie.

But even in its current configuration, this movie is definitely worth checking out. I think you will be suitably dazzled by the Old West atmosphere that is conveyed in the film. Just don't expect a dazzling story to complement it.

I love finding offbeat half-forgotten gems where I wouldn't think to look for them. And I wouldn't think to look for them in the 90's because it's generally a pretty bad decade for westerns and certainly not in the field of made-for-TV horror western hybrids because most of their kind wield their western part as an exotic backdrop against which are played the same generic horror clichés. And I love offbeat gems even more when they're rough and unpolished and full of flaws. Everyone can love a masterpiece but it takes a little something to love a movie like INTO THE BADLANDS. A lot of the dialogue is awfully stilted, characters seem like they're reading verse from a page, the love story between outlaw on the run and worldweary whore in the first segment is produced on demand, the grey paint slapped on the faces of the saloon patrons on the last segment that makes them look like zombies adds a needless horror hijink too literal and cheesy it almost detracts from the actual menacing situation. And yet through all this rides Bruce Dern in his ghostly cart, the blackclad Bounty Hunter tying together the three segments of this anthology. And with him comes a love for vivid colors, cool blues and hot yellows, and fluid camera-work; a love of stylization as an end in itself; a love for pure western iconography (for eerie ghost towns and strange horsemen riding into town and open prairies and funerals in small weedy graveyards) and Gothic atmosphere galore; an affection for old EC Comics style supernatural twists. All this geared not towards a realistic gritty western but a cinematic Gothic horror fable that takes place in the Old West.

The Sci-Fi channel screened this movie yet again last Sunday morning, and, since I liked it so much the first time, I watched it again - and was every bit as enthused about it (actually even more so) as I was the first time I watched it. I felt compelled to rethink my previous comments, and decided to kick them up a notch and submit them here.

For starters, I can't get over how utterly beguiling, or perhaps bewitching, this movie is. That was my initial impression, and it still remains after another viewing. Rich with atmosphere, this movie just plants its spurs in you, grabs you by the chaps, and whisks you off to a (slightly twisted) dreamland of a place called the Old West.

In addition to those things that I mentioned in my previous comments, I noticed several other things that thoroughly enchanted me. I loved the background music - sometimes stylized and lilting, sometimes melancholy and haunting, but always very "Old West", and right on the mark. I liked the oddly bemused twangy voice of Bruce Dern, who gives running commentary at various points throughout the movie. I liked the slow-motion running of the wild horses: vaguely symbolic of Heaven knows what, they were just mesmerizing. And I liked the attention given to minute details, like the sets of spurs and other paraphernalia hanging from the Bounty Man's dilapidated horse-drawn cart.

Last but not least (and perhaps that which I like MOST about this movie) is the persona of Helen Hunt. I'll say it right up front: she plays a character who is basically a tippling saloon whore - dying of consumption, no less. But... she comes across as so alluring and bewitching, so surreal yet so tangible, that I had to do several double takes. Her character in the movie, tragic beyond words, is so... well, let's just say her image quite literally haunted me and remained with me for weeks after viewing the movie the first time.

After the first viewing I thought the three stories that essentially comprise the movie were somewhat sparse and underdeveloped. But upon second viewing, I realized that they were perfectly played out. Just like the Old West itself, they were minimally set up, sparse on details, yet rich with hardscrabble verisimilitude and parable. Kind of reminds me of O. Henry short stories...

I won't say the movie is totally flawless. There are a few (but only a few) parts where "made for TV" production values glaringly show through. The part where Alma (Muriel Hemingway) is fending off the ravenous wolves at the window is one example that comes to mind. But these flaws are minimal compared to the overall satisfaction that I derived from this movie.

Finally, let me make clear to all who would listen: I'm putting forth these comments NOT because I want to hear myself blow a bunch of happy hot air, but because I really want the creators of this movie to know that their efforts in making this haven't gone by unappreciated. (In other words, I'd like to see more movies of this calibre).

I certainly can't guarantee that everyone will like this movie or see it my way... a thousand other people might see this movie and not even remotely agree with my reaction to it. Be that as it may, for those who really want a movie rich in Old West atmosphere and with hauntingly memorable characters, then this movie is one I highly recommend.

Some might describe "Into the Badlands" as a surreal tale of the Old West. I on the other hand would call the film a sleep inducing waste of talent and time. Sure Bruce Dern looks convincing as a bounty hunter, in his black duster and specs. Even the music is interesting and appropriate. Everything else is not good. It begins and ends with the story, which is disjointed and talky. The first part involves a gunslinger talking and talking with barroom whore Helen Hunt. The second is something about Mariel Hemingway talking and talking to a frontier neighbor before some unexplained wolves show up. Dern reappears in the final sequence killing a wanted baddie and then dragging his rotting body around the desert for the rest of the film. - MERK

Which is perhaps the most memorable quote in this movie. Into the Badlands is a fun, and very unique Western. The first of its kind I've ever seen. All across the screen are faces that we all know. Bruce Dern, Mariel Hemmingway, Helen Hunt, and Dylan McDermott. All of them helped add to the neatness of this Western motion picture. Bruce Dern, playing a bounty hunter named T.L. Barston, is perhaps my favorite out of the cast. And after that, Dylan McDermott as a fugitive named McComas is my favorite. Both of them did a very fine job in their roles, especially Bruce Dern. He just did it perfectly. Into the Badlands is a very unique, yet entertaining Western, and one I wouldn't mind viewing again.