Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is set in the 1860s during the Civil War. It follows various Western archetypes who journey to the American West to build new lives and find their fortune. However, the Apache tribe, already there, is unhappy about the settlers encroaching on their land. The movie introduces characters and locations that will no doubt be key to the four planned movies, exploring generations of settlers and Indigenous people struggling to survive in the American West.

Horizon: An American Saga Review

Horizon is filled with sweeping shots of the ever-stunning American West. Its vistas, both beautiful and harsh, serve as the film’s unsung hero because, short of that and the obvious care and thought that went into the set construction and costuming, there isn’t much else good to say about the film.

For even as beautiful as the scenery may be, the cinematography is a stylistic neuter. Meant to be a generationally spanning epic, scenes are framed like a movie of the week, with unnecessary close-ups and a multitude of quick cuts when panoramic wide shots and lingering single shots would have better told the story and given the film its intended scope.

Arguably, Horizon’s greatest weakness is its lack of cohesion. Instead of a contiguous narrative with subplots that build and support its central narrative, Horizon is a fractured series of disjointed vignettes with little time spent on developing their characters or individual elements. Its bizarre structure makes it virtually impossible to bond with characters or events and robs the story of all momentum and the audience of any sense of the passage of time. In one scene, a woman’s family is murdered, and in another, days, months, or years later (who can tell?), she’s falling in love with another man. In another, a young girl introduced in an earlier tragic scene is now in love with a random soldier who is going to war, and the film expects us to care… because.

Combined with an incredibly generic “Western” score and performances that are a grabbag of amateurish and barely passable (often thanks to some very unnatural dialogue), not to mention pacing that wished it could reach turtle speeds, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 never peaks in quality beyond that of a middling TV mini-series.

WOKE ELEMENTS

What Make The Red Man Red

• Every group of Indian-hating white men has one among them whose sole purpose is to remind them and the audience that not all tribes are the same.
  • Sam Worthington’s character continually and clunkily refers to the Indians as “Indigenous.”

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Corsicana

Isaiah Washington, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Preston Burke in Grey’s Anatomy, takes on the challenging role of bringing the enigmatic Bass Reeves to life in Corsicana, a film that also marks his directorial debut. Set against a backdrop of a Western wilderness, Corsicana delves into the fictional exploits of the historical figure Reeves, as he relentlessly pursues a dangerous gang of rapists and murderers, led by his fictional former partner, Jack Donner.

Washington, who also directs and co-writes the film, faces some challenges stemming from his limited experience in these roles. It is a shame because his performance as Reeves is truly captivating, paying homage to the incredible persona of the real-life Reeves. With additional short film projects and further training, Washington could have successfully executed this ambitious endeavor. While he displays commendable instincts, they are occasionally overshadowed by a lack of restraint and an inclination towards artistic expression, sometimes detracting from the storytelling. Consequently, there are instances of questionable camerawork, lingering slow-motion scenes that disrupt the flow, and an initial peak in pacing that is never recaptured.

Another significant drawback lies in the film’s dialogue, which, though not outright schlocky, comes across as amateurish, clichéd, and overly obvious. It often evokes memories of George Lucas’s strained attempts in the Star Wars prequels. Moreover, the script relies excessively on exposition when the power of silence could have had a more profound impact.

Furthermore, apart from Washington’s commendable performance, the rest of the cast struggles to meet the demands of their roles. While they may not reach the depths of the infamous Spider from Avatar, their lackluster performances offer little promise for future endeavors.

Collectively, these factors culminate in a disappointingly unsatisfying conclusion. Although the villains receive their due, the film fails to fully engage the audience, leaving them disconnected.

WOKE ELEMENTS

None

The post Corsicana first appeared on Worth it or Woke.

Terror on The Prairie

Hot on the heels of Disney canceling her, Terror on The Prairie stars retired mixed martial artist Gina Carano (Deadpool, The Mandalorian) as Hattie McAllister, a homemaker and homesteader in the Montana wilderness at a time when The Civil War was still fresh in the hearts and minds of many an American. Her husband, Jeb, played by former UFC fighter Donald Cerrone (The Equalizer 2, The Terminal List), was among a group of soldiers who, during the war, mistakenly killed the daughter of a Confederate officer who has now come seeking his vengeance. Since this is a western, it seems apropos that we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly about this film.

The Good

From the costumes to the props, the overall production value is top-notch. It’s a beautifully shot film, in which Cinematographer, Steeven Petitteville is the standout star. He perfectly captures the sense of isolation and emptiness of the plains of Montana. While in shows like Yellowstone the sweeping vistas of endless mountains are used to convey a sense of timeless majesty, in Terror on the Prairie they stand like sentinels confining the protagonists to their stead. Petitteville manages to make the openness of the wilderness feel claustrophobic, and nearly every exterior shot is a work of art.

The story is simple and there is very little dialogue. Which is a decidedly good thing for this film (more on this later). Instead, it relies heavily on the atmosphere fostered by Petitteville to carry the emotional through-lines.

The best performance arguably given by the late Heath Freeman (best known for a three-episode stint in the TV show Bones), who played Gold Teeth, (Captain Miller’s right-hand man). He’s a cigar-chomping bandit who, unlike several of the film’s other performers, never seems to feel out of his depth. He is consistent and present in each scene, and, in the little dialogue that he’s given, Freeman delivers with seething menace.

The Bad

The weakest link in this chain is the acting. It’s not fair to blanket it as “bad,” however, it is clear that the talent pool was a bit on the shallow side, and it’s more accurate to say that the performances are inconsistent. On more than one occasion, many of the actors seem at a loss as to what to do with themselves. Their voices lack the conviction of someone who is present in the moment, and they often appear to not know where, or at whom, to look.

As the film’s lead, and therefore the character that sets the tone for the majority of the project, the biggest offender is Gina Carano. Put plainly, she is out of her depth, giving a wooden delivery and having one facial expression and tone for most of the film. As much as being emotionally distant worked for her characters in Deadpool and The Mandalorian, it falls far short of what was needed in this film. Some, maybe a lot, of the blame for this falls on the director, Michael Polish (90 Minutes in Heaven).

So, let’s talk about Terror on The Prairie’s direction. Theatre is a lot like a painting. It takes a number of components, all at their best to create something great. The greatest painter’s work will suffer from inferior brushes, bad paint, and a rotting canvas but not even the best of those components can raise a novice painter to the heights of the art. Unlike a painting, in film and on the stage, it can be a challenge to figure out where the weakness lies. So it is with Terror. However, my gut says that neither the director nor the actors were sufficient to elevate this film out of its C+’ness.

Finally, despite the cinematographer’s best efforts, there are some distracting choices made in this film. In one scene, Carano and her son and daughter have been running for their lives long enough for it to have gone from night to dawn, and just behind the treeline, we see what appears to be a barn or house.

It’s impossible to believe that homesteaders wouldn’t know every other homestead within walking distance. This oversight is distracting and completely took me out of the moment. Also, there are numerous times in the film when the camera is focused on the “bad guys” coming in and out of the barn, and you could set Benny Hill music to it. They’re in, they’re out. There seems to be no good reason for any of the choices, and the camera doesn’t know what to do with them.

The Ugly

Despite my review, Terror on The Prairie is not that bad. It has enough going for it to warrant putting it on in the background if you already have a DailyWire+ membership.

WOKE ELEMENTS

None. Terror on the Prairie is an intentionally non-woke film. While it would be understandable for some to assume that having a woman in the lead of a gritty western thriller is woke, it is not in this case. Carano’s character is a traditional frontierswoman and mother who relies on her husband for protection. In the film, she’s been put in an extreme situation and behaved appropriately.

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