''The Horseman'' is a 2008 Australian

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed and written by Steven Kastrissios and starring Peter Marshall, Evert McQueen and introducing Caroline Marohasy.

Plot

After the drug-induced death of his teenaged daughter, Christian (Peter Marshall) is sent a

video tape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...

, a "

snuff film A snuff film, or snuff movie, or snuff video, is a type of film that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The concept of snuff films became known to the general public during the 1970s, when an urban legend alleged that a cland ...

" involving his daughter and several men. Christian then decides to avenge his daughter by killing all those linked to the sex tape. Along the way he meets a teenage runaway named Alice (Caroline Marohasy) and a fragile friendship begins to unfold.

Cast

Production

''The Horseman'' was conceived as a short film.

Release

The film came out on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 March 2010 in the UK. The film was part of the Sitges Film Festival,

Fantasia Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

, the Film4 FrightFest and South by Southwest 2009. Screen Media Ventures set the limited theatrical run for the

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on 15 June 2010.

Critical reception

While it has been criticised for the brutal violence and content matter, receiving an R rating, writer and director Steven Kastrissios has mentioned he believes that the brutality is essential to the story. It currently has a rating of 60% on the movie review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 30 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10.The Horseman (2008), http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_horseman_2008. Retrieved 13 November 2022

Accolades

References

External links

*
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horseman, The 2008 films 2008 horror films 2008 psychological thriller films Australian drama films Australian thriller films Australian vigilante films Rape and revenge films Films set in Queensland Films shot in Queensland 2008 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s vigilante films