Revelation Trail

Unknown actors and no budget. There are a lot of people involved in this I would like to see more of. Monologues are notoriously hard to pull off so the sheriff carries a lot of this movie.

So, it's time for one balanced review. Not the worst zombie flick, but far from deserving all those 'raves'. Interesting premise, mix of a western and a zombie story, evenly paced, but slow. There is some complexity in the character development, some action, fair sets, passable, although amateurish, directing and acting...put all together, it feels weak and unconvincing, particularly towards the predictable end. Honorable mention for two senior members of the ensemble (The Marshal and The Mayor). I guess it would be ok to watch for the connoisseurs of the genre, but no one else. Before necessary adjustments, rated 4/10.

The story itself was well thought out. Following Preacher through this grim world was interesting as I watched him trying to cope with what was going on around him. As he went on with a Sheriff as his one companion, their interactions outside of dealing with the undead were quite amusing. The special effects department did a fantastic job of making me believe that this world was very much real. There was an interesting twist towards the end which left me wanting to know more about why the world became the way it was. I'm really looking forward to seeing another film created about Preacher and the West. All in all, a great film that is definitely a must-see for anyone who is even remotely interested in zombie films. Or westerns.

Well, first of all, I must admit that the idea of mixing in a zombie outbreak in a Western setting definitely holds potential. And when I stumbled upon the 2013 movie "Revelation Trail" that mixed those two concepts together, of course I sat down to watch this movie.

And yeah, the movie's cover definitely helped to win me over, selling the movie with that rather interesting-looking cover.

Boy, oh boy, this movie was a swing and a miss. While it sounded interesting in concept idea, then the outcome of writers Blake Armstrong, John P. Gibson and Daniel Van Thomas's collective writing just didn't cut it. This movie offered very little in terms of entertainment for me. And I ended up giving up on the movie out of sheer boredom, not even halfway through the ordeal.

The storyline told in "Revelation Trail" just fell short of being interesting almost right from the very beginning, so the movie was off to a bad start. And it was a constant uphill struggle, as the storyline never improved and the characters in the movie were about as interesting as cardboard cut-outs.

For a zombie movie then "Revelation Trail" offered nothing worthwhile to the genre. It was pretty generic and run-of-the-mill zombie stuff here. Well, minus all the gore and mayhem that most zombie movies or series usually deliver. And let's be honest here, guts, gore and mayhem is what you want to see when you sit down to watch a zombie movie, right? Right!

Director John P. Gibson's 2013 movie was one that came and went without as much as a groan, much less leaving a lasting bite on the genre. I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down 8 years after it came out, by stumbling upon it by sheer random luck. And it will just as quietly disappear back into oblivion without having left a lasting impression.

I am rating "Revelation Trail" a mere, but generous, three out of ten stars. This is not a shining moment in the history of zombie movies. Nor is it a movie that I will ever be returning to attempt to finish watching.

Revelation Trail Review The first question any movie-goer will ask when reading the synopsis of Revelation Trail will inevitably be, "is this seriously ANOTHER zombie movie?" Or perhaps even more poignant, "A zombie western? What are they going to do next, put zombies in space?" Regardless of whether or not you are one of the aforementioned viewers who would ask these questions, Revelation Trail will not disappoint in any way, shape, or form. The reason… quite simple – if you took the zombie factor out, the movie would be just as good. Just like it's contemporaries; anything from Dead Snow to the Walking Dead series, it's a great story all on it's own and only uses the undead to drive home the point even further – and scare the pants off those with a weak stomach! Starting with what we actually see on the screen, this is director John Gibson's first feature length of this magnitude – and the production quality is an absolute knock-out. This film could easily stand up against any Hollywood, big budget production, and being that the film was made on a modest budget – that's no small feat. Not a single ounce of detail is lost or overlooked in the picture quality, audio, lighting, editing pace, or post-production effects. For anyone familiar with the usual run at Sundance or other Independent films, this is definitely not a movie that excuses either the forgivable quality loss of many documentaries or intentionally amateurish style of many narratives – it's a high quality film that used its meager budget for just the essentials and the essentials are more than well-covered. For any movie analyst with a keen eye, there's not a single shot that's out of place.

But of course, there's the story behind the aesthetics that stays on the viewers' minds much longer than the lighting. First off, Revelation Trail – what a hell of a name! It's absolutely perfect for a Western movie that conjures up sights and sounds from the classic Spaghetti Western era. Take that foundation and throw a zombie apocalypse into the mix and you've got a post-modern tour de force. The tale follows our two main characters – the local preacher and sheriff - and just how these two are reconciling their worldviews with the ensuing events that would rock anyone's core beliefs. On a theoretical/philosophical level, it's a great escalating conflict of the realist battling the idealist; or in this case – the sheriff battling the preacher. One is a man of the law – he must uphold order to keep the peace and goes home with a clear conscience regardless of what he's done that day. The other is a man of God – one not so willing to just senselessly kill –at least not without a proper burial. It's a classic character archetype that keeps the film interesting down to the last minute. Director John Gibson (who makes a brief cameo as a zombie himself!) is an avid Star Wars fan, and this character match-up has Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan written all over it. But regardless of the character influence, the end result is the same – it works.

In short, Revelation Trail is a solid film that gets high marks on every aspect of the filmmaking process – and a great first outing for director John Gibson and Co. For any fans of zombie movies, Western movies, and everything in between and not so in between, Revelation Trail is soon to be a widely recognized outstanding independent film. -Marc Kennedy