Left for Dead

I'm still going over the film in my head and I've watched the DVD twice as well. No spoilers as I just wanted to comment on the cast. I thought it was refreshing to see real women in a desperate situation unlike so many horror films which feature nubile bikini wearing females in desperate situations. The cast felt like women struggling to survive in the Mexico frontier in 1890. Hard, half daft, angry and frighteningly ruthless. They quite embodied what it must have been like and they also looked like the type that could believably survive. No cutesy starlet bimbo types, but tough, rugged women who look they live through much abuse.

The feminine anger of betrayal and being degraded was etched into each character almost painfully.

I thought the odd speech patterns worked as it revealed damaged minds and souls.

The film wasn't perfect. The special effects could've been better and the action slowed a bit too much in the middle. Very sad and filled with a great helping of pain and grief. I found it riveting and much more enjoyable on the second watching.

I remember years back as a kid the first Albert Pyun movie I saw was CYBORG, then after that I saw NEMESIS, and I enjoyed them both mainly because they looked cool, and as a kid I never really paid attention to the flaws or tried to over analyze the plot, I just liked CYBORG because I was a big Van Damme fan, and I liked NEMESIS because it was something different, and over the years every time I saw Albert Pyun's name on a film, I would immediately say that's the guy who directed CYBORG & NEMESIS, but of course, he has directed some terrible films, such as that URBAN MENACE junk and a few others that made me wonder if this actually was directed by the same guy.

LEFT FOR DEAD was the first Pyun movie I saw since TICKER, and compared to the other films I've seen before, it was nothing like any of Pyun's previous work, and I mean that in a good way, sure its no masterpiece, but it is also not the worst movie out there, I actually liked the storyline, it was very original and unfolded nicely, I'll also add that I am not a die hard fan of the spaghetti western genre so I guess its easier for me to accept it as it is, the acting was not all bad but also not all good, entertainment wise, a lot of people might find it a bit on the boring side, because it doesn't have any major action sequences or anything that will make you jump out of your seat, it is mainly focused on being more of a ghost story than anything else, other than that it has a part near the ending that is pretty gross.

I actually liked this film, and for those that consider it the worst movie you've ever seen, check out these titles, HUNTING SEASON, THE CAVERN and FIVE ACROSS THE EYES, then you'll know what's worse.

"Left For Dead" has a dreamlike, hauntingly chilling atmosphere from the beginning to the end. There is not too much landscape, there are not too much environmental elements, but the atmosphere is so strong, so hypnotizing that I found myself re-watching "Left for Dead" again and again. "Left for Dead" is a Gothic western about the moments that decide the fates of human beings. I emphasize on "human beings" because the characters here are not only likable but believable. Victoria Maurette makes me the biggest impression, adding layers of depth to her character without even uttering a word, just her facial expressions, the way she moves, the confidence with which she acts is simply brilliant. It is incredible how Pyun achieves to create such memorable scenes. There is in "Left for Dead" one of the best uses of slow-motion (and no-motion) I have ever seen. Slow-motion that captures the darkest, saddest moment, the one thing no one would expect to happen in a western. There is something haunting and sad all over the movie. It has a very intense emotional effect on the viewer. "Left for dead" is a uniquely dark voyage into the brutal reality of human nature. Watching it has been one of the most powerful experiences I've had for a long time. The darkest and most brutal sides of human nature are here present all the time and the things get almost surreal at times. The ending of the film is so harrowingly real it becomes almost unbearable in its sadness and both mental and physical violence. The theme of violence and vengeance remember me the best spaghetti westerns, specially Corbucci's. Only a master like Pyun could break all the conventions and rules of the genre, because this film just wants to be and is so much more. The imagery is stunning for such a tiny budget. So haunting --it becomes almost a surreal element and a very creepy one. The cinematography blows with some great compositions and different angles plus some extreme close ups to make each scene look as powerful as their potential. I Think that "Left for Dead" is one of Pyun's greatest achievements. I'm sure that it will remain. The cinematic magic could not be any more fantastic. This is a 'piece of honest, raw, beautiful, mighty cinema. What we have here, is nothing less than the ultimate essence of the Gothic Western: irony, cruelty, tenderness, beauty, violence, powerful characters... and chaos. Throughout the movie is laced with the anguish of haunted souls. "Left for Dead" comes across as a powerful and beautifully constructed Greek tragedy with a cynical and almost psychological edge bound to it. Pyun's stylishly first-rate direction keeps the film sombre with a brutally inspiring tone in its dramatic images and context. The wonderful use of lighting and composition keep the viewer's attention. The inventive framing also shows the quality and uniqueness of his direction. Even the flashback sequences are positioned in the story accordingly and in a fulfilling style. The story is full of symbolic and uncanny issues. What more can I say ? "Left for dead" is an unmissable, magnificently macabre opera of death.

While searching for a deadly bandit that happens to be her husband, a woman joins an all-female posse hunting him down and eventually tracks him to a remote mining town haunted by a vengeful ghost intent on not letting them leave alive.

While this one wasn't too bad, there's not a lot here to really get much enjoyment out of this one. This is mainly due to the fact that there's just not a whole lot of horror elements to go around, as most of the time it's a Western film, as it's set in the 1880s, for instance, and while that makes a nice impression as to the uniqueness of the setting, it never really does a lot with it's horror elements. The ghost has a few bits of screen-time, which is fine as it's to dish out the kills or chases around the town, but the majority of the time is spent with the group spouting off at each other or an incredibly lame drama about the relationship between them all, and it just makes it hard to stay invested in the middle. Also problematic is the fact that it tends to show-off some pretty nifty camera tricks that are just plain pointless and irritating, from the slow-motion shots to the never-ending series of flash-effects used during the sequences. Add in more gunshots for the cause of death than anything despite some decent deaths when it matters, and it's a disappointing effort overall.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Nudity.

I don't know how to describe Left for Dead. A western? A horror western? A paranormal western? a Ghosts western? no, just a piece of trash. This movie is a boring non sense from start to finish. Pyun direction is lazy and generic (he made some stylish action movies back in the 90s but here he flops). The script is awful, the acting is near as bad as in Zombieggedon and the worst thing here is the edition. Man!, the editor is an evil hack! All those stop motion scenes, fast motion, image freezing... they wanted to make the movie "cool", this is like a retarded no budget version of Domino(and Domino was indeed retarded). If you like Nemesis or some of those martial arts-sci fi Albert Pyun movies, stay away from this piece of boring, lazy and non sense crap. You will be very disappointed. 2/10