Hostile Territory

Poor execution. The acting is pretty rough, the script isn't much better. I didn't hate the movie, it was just a tough watch for a movie that had a great plot and couldn't deliver.

It started out well, but then you just wait and wait and wait while the story dragged on and on with boring dialogs.

Then you realize much of the film did no research and is based on cliches. For example, Apaches are from desert like New Mexico, they're not found in Missouri, not even close.

These cliches and inaccuracies just takes you out of the suspension of disbelief. A black woman walking on the road and out of nowhere a bunch of confederates decides to rape her with 2 union soldiers, armed union soldiers, only a few feet away? And the whole thing is just down right cliche, Confederates are evil, Union are good. I mean, do you know how many women were raped in Atlanta by Union soldiers? How many homes burned, children killed?

It's ironic b/c the final message of the movie is violence is bad and people should learn to live in peace, despite their cultural and ethnic differences. Yet in the so called diversity utopia ending, they never reconcile the main division between the Confederate and the Union at the beginning of the film. That's just either political bias or just very cliche work that did no research.

Then there is the ludicrous scenes, such as when the black woman all of the sudden end up riding a horse with them and armed with a pistol. Forget the fact, horses are quite expensive, but she was riding the horse in a dress? And she had lessons on how to ride horses? When the Apache showed up, they had to make quick turns and rode on high, she was trained to do that? Then she just pulled out a pistol and started firing at the Apache. Was she trained to use a gun?

I get this is a low budget movie, but the filming is actually quite good. The only time I thought it was cheezey was the Indian's costumes, a bit too colorful and Walmart. Which is ironic b/c Indian's outfit should be the easiest to make in comparison to the other clothings such as the soldiers uniforms, which require much more attention to detail. But a lot of these inconsistencies and ridiculous elements can easily be avoided with a little bit of research on the internet.

A bit slow & drawn out (1 h 34 min seems like 2 hrs) but not too bad, overall just OK.

Can add that the scenery & photograpy was good, lots of drones shots in filming the snowy landscape.

Wanted to give 5.5 out of 10.

I'll watch any Western movie. I absolutely love them. This has the feel of a poorly written and executed Spaghetti Western with the modern touch added. A little bit of research into the lexicon and dress of the period would have made it loads better. Using the wrong Native American tribes for the location and period is a big issue, which is easily corrected with a simple search. It just has the feel of trying to make a modern Clint Eastwood or John Wayne plot, but with half the effort, which says a lot, considering how low budget those typically were. However, it was refreshing to see a new aspect added, with the Orphan Train getting some needed recognition. The cinematography and musical score were great, contrasting the shoddy script and acting at times. The ending was pretty weak as well, making the movie feel rushed to conclude. In all, for a Western lover, it's your run of the mill, low budget fix. It could be loads better, but it could also be much, much worse.

Good subject and story concept about historical events that are not covered in film much. However...none of the actors were believable or convincing. Subpar / underdeveloped acting and actors doomed this film from start to finish. Excellent cinematography made up for acting shortcomings.