2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Eric_Cubed This is a spectacular movie, nearly perfect. It tells the tale of a father's revenge in a way that Taken could not have fathomed. It's gritty, it's realistic, it's relatable and most importantly well acted. From Australia, the country of awesome independent films, comes the story of one man's relentless pursuit of the men who murdered his daughter, after drugging her and forcing her into the porn industry. I can't understand why this movie isn't rated higher. It's like "Near Dark" without the Vampires. Then again, I do have a weak spot for violent revenge thrillers, with the typical ass-kicking Jason Statham movies being high on my list of guilty pleasures. So maybe I'm a bit biased. But it's something we can all relate to, except those of us who are psychopaths of course, the tale of a vulnerable, young woman being exploited and killed/kidnapped by evil forces. As conscientious people, we secretly cheer when these people have their fingernails pulled, their pinky fingers chopped off and their testicles shoved down their throat. Who didn't cheer when Liam put a big fat hole in the princes head in taken. No one, that's who. Watch this movie, it's great.

MattyGibbs This is a story of one man's revenge against the people he holds responsible for the death of his daughter. It's a grim and grimy revenge tale full of bloody violence. It won't appeal to everyone and my wife ceased watching after 5 minutes but if you like these kinds of movie then you are likely to enjoy this. The acting is pretty good and I thought Peter Marsh did a good job at gaining sympathy as the grief stricken dad doling out his own particular brand of justice. Brad McMurray is also worth a mention as one of the most imposing villains you could wish to see.I wouldn't say this film had many surprises or a particular message but I find watching lowlife scum being deservedly dispatched pretty satisfying in its own right. The Horseman is a fast paced film and doesn't spend much time setting the scene before plunging straight into the action. I enjoyed this film and thought it was a very good example of a quality revenge movie especially bearing in mind it's relatively low budget. Recommended.

Paul Andrews The Horseman is set in Australia where a man named Christian (Peter Marshall) has recently lost his daughter Jesse (Hannah Levien), she was found dead having choked on her own vomit. The police inform Christian that Jesse had large amounts of heroin & sperm in her body, shortly after her death a videotape arrives in the post for Christian which show's Jesse taking part in a porn film where several men have sex with her. Senseing a connection Christian sets out to discover the truth & punish the men responsible for drugging his daughter & then raping her for a porn film, from the editor to the cameraman to the producer to the actor's Christian does whatever it takes to find out who they are & track them down to take his brutal & violent revenge. Along the way he picks up a young girl named Alice (Caroline Marohasy) who reminds him of Jesse...This Australian production was edited, written, produced & directed by Steven Kastrissios this brutal thriller is a story of revenge & grief that tries to be shocking & bleak & to be fair is somewhat successful. The script has been cut right down to the bone with little in the way of exposition as the story moves along from one brutal set-piece to another. There's still time for a bit of humanity with various flashback as Christian remember the good times between himself & his daughter, the character of Alice also brings a little human emotion to the story. However the area where The Horseman shines is in it's gritty depiction of brutal violence as Christian takes his revenge on those who he believes were responsible for his daughter's death while making a porn film. Often quite shocking & sometimes disturbing this is not for the squeamish or faint of heart, although not that graphic the violence hits homes as Christian uses the contents of his tool box to devastating effect. While the violence is usually brief & brutal there is one moment at the end where Christian has to unlock his handcuffs with a key on the floor before he is killed which tries to stretch the suspense & tension & threat out a little bit like a more standard film might have but that's the only occasion where the violence isn't short, to the point & brutal with no long speeches or pauses. At just over an hour & a half The Horseman moves along at a decent pace although it's intentions are straight forward & it doesn't really deviate from it's main story of revenge although you could say it's a little shallow & one dimensional. The character's vary, Christian is quite well fleshed out as the grieving father but the men who made the porn film are all stereotyped as evil, women hating murderers & scumbags which the film tends to level at anyone involved in the pron industry which is clearly untrue.While the violence is brutal & hits home there's not that much actual gore, sure there's some blood splatter & a bit where someone's nipple is pulled off with pliers but the majority of the nasty torture is implied with quick cuts, sound effects & a shaking camera rather than graphic gore effects. The fights are are of the back street brawl variety as men head-butt, punch, kick & beat each other up with whatever they can grab. There's no extravagant martial arts or overblown fight scenes here & that in itself adds a certain gritty realism. Together with the brutal minimalist violence the twitchy camera evokes a documentary like feel along with the muted colour scheme.Filmed in Brisbane in Queensland in Australia the film has decent production values although it still has a somewhat low budget look. The acting is very good, Peter Marshall puts in a fine performance as a grieving father out for revenge.The Horseman is a brutal tale of revenge from Australia that I can't say I loved but at the same time can't say I hated, it does what it sets out to do effectively enough but I doubt I would want to see it again anytime soon. Worth watching for sure but not worth going out of your way to watch.

ptb-8 Novice Australian film maker Steven Kastrissios in his first feature has managed to cram a lot of anger into his revenge film THE HORSEMAN, in limited release in Australia. Why so limited? well, it's a sort of BAISE MOI level road film with WOLF CREEK ideology and a lot of people tied to chairs being tortured while they scream. Quentin and Eli (of HOSTEL infamy) no doubt would be very pleased with this spawn of their school of revenge cinema. It is all sad really; not just the heartbreaking back-story but that visual atrocity insistence by our young Steven. I really cannot imagine his Mum and Dad being too happy... maybe some psychiatric sessions might delve into his dark recesses since this is a first film and he is a young man stained with the quest to put visual cruelty, misery, humiliation and vicious beatings so prominently. For me it smacks (no pun intended) of a lack of talent. Really, just where does a revenge flick go? and why one so pulverizing... after all it can only be a shopping list of killing scenes padded with male bashings, pipe clubbings, stabbings... truly, in the end I was laughing at the absurdity of the fights and the cruelty. It lost all meaning. The film is far too long, too violent and relentlessly downward spiral. In a new generation of young film makers Mr Kastrissios has made an extreme film, unbalanced in its immature depiction of the worst depravity as if that is "creative drama". He has a lot to learn and you are warned that he will make more and herald it as clever. It is all sad, even the bloody existence of this attempt at porno cruelty revenge horror. It is as if he made a list of depraved things and connected violent screaming acts between them. The last 30 minutes of the film is so cruelly stupid you will likely laugh out loud especially during the strangulation with the garden hose. I bet the premiere was a doozy with the guests vomiting in the toilets at the after party and Mum and Dad looking to escape. The real test of his film making maturity will come in another film that simply has to be about something that offers value for time spent watching. THE HORSEMAN was occasionally interesting until it went so completely off the rails in the last act. And all from someone so young and bright but preferring (like the victim daughter of the film) to dive immediately into filth and brutality.