Organ Trail

I thought this was a western horror. It turned out to be a poorly directed thriller drama with villains and protagonists that are comically super human-although it wasn't funny. Just annoying. The director apparently doesn't care a bit about reality. This is stuff from 80s slasher films in which bullets in the heart don't stop some people but a bullet from the sky kills someone else. Dumb, idiotic and a waste of time. It is not a horror movie. It's a brain numbing sophomoric movie with misleading trailers and miscategorized as a horror. Sadly, some of the acting was very good-hopefully the pay was good because it didn't help their reputations.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a horror flick.

But it can be more aptly described as a low budget western thriller.

There isn't really a main character in the film.

Rather, the plot centers around a string of incidents, through which three groups of people collide - a family of settlers travelling along the Oregon Trail; a gang of violent raiders, who prey on such travelers; and a couple of black homesteaders, who just so happen to have settled in the area.

The gang uses a woman they have captured as bait, to lure benevolent settlers to their death (by their hands).

After which they raid their wagons for goods and women.

The gang consists of a leader, a sociopath, a follower, and a good man trapped in a bad situation.

And, when they murder the family we are introduced to, they end up taking their daughter prisoner.

However, she ends up escaping.

After which she is taken in by the black couple.

Only to steal their horse, so as to return to the scene of the crime, so that she can bury her family.

Not knowing the gang has sent their woman to track her; while the sociopath tracks her (because she is taking too long)- just as the black homesteader sets out to get his beloved horse back.

Inevitably leading their paths to cross...in what will turn out to be an incredibly violent turn of events.

The acting is actually quite decent across the board.

And the scenery is quite stunning.

Unfortunately, the plot relies on some extremely implausible events to drive itself forward.

With a couple instances of really poor CGI effects.

On top of that...the climax is rather underwhelming...culminating with an all too abrupt ending.

Which doesn't leave you satisfied.

But it's not a bad little film.

And is entirely watchable.

With some effectively disturbing moments.

Even if it doesn't quite live up to other films based on extreme ultraviolence.

I don't really get the title, though.

Because it never has anything to do with organs.

4 out of 10.

Why in the world would you have a fairly well known actor like Sam Trammell try to pull off an Irish accent? Good lort. It was a continual mixture of a flat American dialect, a American Southern Drawl, and a VERY BADLY DONE fake Irish accent. For the love of Pete it did nothing for the plot of the film, as all the men were to have been just recently released from their regiments in the American Civil War. So any American accent would do.

Otherwise, as a thriller or a gritty frightening western. That in itself was done well. This group of men are just what outlaws would really would have been. Old Westerns cleaned them up so much, making them have things they "wouldnt do". But TRUE horrible psychopaths and sociopaths have no invisible line that they won't cross. And that would include taking over a whole town and killing everyone in it. Or killing whole families on the Oregon Trail, pillaging their wagons, stealing the horses, and SA'ing the women. While so many stories through history tell you that wagoners on the Oregon Trail had to fear the Native American Tribes on their trek. Not much was said about our own citizenry doing much worse (and if you saw those hand made arrows, try to pin it on the Native American Tribes).

If you want something a little bit different and gritty to watch...this is a 7/10...has a little bit of "girl power" but it's not so in your face you'd be offended.

But my lort Sam Trammell. Never pretend to have an Irish accent ever again.

Right, well I had never actually heard about this 2023 Western drama thriller titled "Organ Trail" prior to sitting down and watching it. Initially I found the movie's title interesting, and the movie's cover/poster sort of hinted at something bloody. So of course I opted to give the movie a chance.

I managed to sit through one hour of the 112 minutes that the movie ran for, then I gave up out of sheer and utter boredom. The storyline and narrative, as written by Meg Turner, was wholly and fully lacking anything to catch my interest, and it was quite a struggle to sit through the movie for that long. And believe you me when I was say that I am not returning to attempt finish watching the movie, because the characters and storyline just had no appeal to me.

The narrative was simply too slow paced, mundane and lacking anything interesting or thrilling.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but the acting performances were actually fair enough, despite of the storyline utterly failing to entertain me.

Surely there is an audience out there for a movie such as "Organ Trail", I just happened not to be a part of that particular audience.

It should be noted, however, that the production value of the movie was good, and it was essentially that which kept me hanging on for one hour, that and the hope of it becoming a more interesting movie. Ultimately, that just never happened.

My rating of "Organ Trail", from director Michael Patrick Jann, lands on a three out of ten stars.

My expectations were low. I am a huge lover of low budget films. However this was so wonky with its time frame and how historically things would have been done....its a joke. Not semi-realistic in any sense. What creates true fear is knowing it could have realistically happened. During that time period, your weapon meant everything. That means your most prized possession was your rifle. So people are going west with muzzle loaders when lever actions were all the rage as well as metallic cartridge revolver rounds? Obviously this director....nor does anyone else who has work on this know what the hell they are doing or talking about.