Red Hill (2010)

Since this movie just popped up and everyone's talking about how good it is, it’d be a crime to let it fly under the radar. I figured I'd pull it out of the "film with edge" thread for a moment...

"Red Hill" is a modern American West revenge western by Australian revenge western director Patrick Hughes. It's his debut, and some people are saying visually it looks like the perfect mix of No Country for Old Men and The Proposition. Honestly, judging by that killer trailer, I'm inclined to agree. The cast features actors most of us know from other stuff, like Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Steve Bisley (Mad Max), and Tom E. Lewis (The Proposition). Hughes is currently wrapping things up to get it ready for the Berlin International Film Festival. Hopefully, we see it hit international screens shortly after.



IMDB

Official site

TRAILER
TRAILER 2

PLOT

Officer Shane Cooper moves to the small mountain town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife, hoping for a fresh start for their growing family. but When News of a prison break in The City sends The local law enforcement officers into a panic, Shane's first shift on the job turns into a total nightmare.
enter Jimmy Conway, a convicted killer serving a life sentence, who heads back to this isolated outpost looking for payback. Caught in the crosshairs of a sudden bloodbath, Shane is forced to play vigilante just to make it out alive. This is a tense action/thriller that plays out over a single, brutal day. Packed with explosive action and chilling violence, it's a modern-day western set in the American high country.

IMAGES

Here are a few reviews...

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainmen...SLwa6OMgbICFIJ Quote

Saddle up; the western Has returned. Even though "Red Hill" takes place in the USA rather than the American West, you might find yourself thinking of the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men." It’s got that same vibe where a strange-looking guy triggers a total bloodbath.
2,5/4

Commercial director Patrick Hughes bursts into feature films in a Massive way with this mash-up of brutal style western and grimy polica action thriller. It’s basically an Australian western / thriller / Coen-brothers homage that feels like a gritty blend of High Plains Drifter and report to The Commissioner. Set in the dusty landscapes of the American West, the story follows a man seeking justice after a brutal betrayal. While some might compare its vibe to No Country for Old Men or The Proposition, there's a unique energy here that keeps you hooked. True Blood's Ryan Kwanten in his native accent is The chief selling Point of this picturesque setting, bringing a raw intensity to the screen. Even if it leans heavily on classic tropes found in films like The Outlaw Josey Wales or Chato's Land, the execution is sharp. It's a wild ride that offers an Australian tip of The Stetson to The vengeance western genre.

True Blood's Ryan Kwanten in his native accent is The chief selling Point of this picturesque Australian western / thriller / Coen-brothers homage, which marks the feature debut of writer-director Patrick Hughes.
B

I checked out that NYT review from a while back. It’s a solid take on how the film hits.

Just like the greatest westerns out there, red Hill is a raw, stripped-down morality tale; much like a top-tier horror flick, the real monsters stay hidden until the very end.

Check out this link from the LA Times about that new flick: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...0,831235.story

Morally simple but hits hard, Red Hill is an Australian tip of the Stetson to the vengeance western—a gritty story about settling scores that links a nation's dark past to its search for a better future.
5/5

Check out this review for Red Hill: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/red-h...-movie-review/

I honestly can't recommend this movie enough. I really hope it gets the wide theatrical release it clearly deserves—fingers crossed that the star power of Ryan Kwanten (since "True Blood" is huge right now) helps push it. Either way, it's a heavy hitter and definitely needs to be seen.

Commercial director Patrick Hughes bursts into feature films in a Massive way with this mash-up of brutal style western and grimy polica action thriller. It’s an Australian western / thriller / Coen-brothers homage that hits hard. True Blood's Ryan Kwanten in his native accent is The chief selling Point of this picturesque setting, but the story itself is gritty. Think High Plains Drifter and report to The Commissioner meets modern grit. An Australian tip of The Stetson to The vengeance western, this one definitely delivers.

In the end red Hill isn't just some mindless, violent western—even if it nails that vibe perfectly. It’s actually a heavy morality tale that digs into the dark side of American history and our own personal failings. Through some pretty slick directing, the movie hits you with the idea that anyone can slip up, and sometimes you need serious backbone to actually do the right thing. For an action-packed flick, it shows a level of maturity that really catches you off guard. Honestly, this is the kind of movie that deserves much more mainstream attention.
8.5 out of 10

http://twitchfilm.com/reviews/2010/0...ill-review.php

Anyone else craving those old-school revenge westerns or gritty, vintage cop thrillers? It feels like we haven't seen a decent High Plains Drifter or a modern-day Report to The Commissioner in forever. Well, look no further. American director Patrick Hughes is charging in to save the genre with his debut, Red Hill. Commercial director Patrick Hughes bursts into feature films in a Massive way with this mash-up of brutal style western and grimy polica action thriller. If you're looking for something that echoes High Plains Drifter and report to The Commissioner, or even classics like Chato's Land, The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, Buck and The Preacher, Straw Dogs, and White Line Fever, you're in the right place. If you miss badass, old-school shoot-'em-ups featuring actual characters and actors who look like real people, Red Hill is your movie. Hughes channels the vibes of legends like Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, and Don Siegel, but updates the grit with his own unique spin on those classic violent myths.
A total standout in the lineup at Fantastic Fest 2010. Honestly, I was floored and ready for more the second the credits rolled. Since this is part of a planned trilogy, Patrick Hughes is clearly just warming up. As a huge film nerd, I’m already counting down until his next project hits the screen.

Sony grabbed Red Hill for theatrical release, and it’s hitting US theaters on November 5th. Do yourself a favor and go see it. Serious western and action fans shouldn't miss this one.

http://www.zuti-titl.com/p-q-r-s-t/red-hill-2010

An awesome American "cowboy" thriller! It's been way too long since we've seen a modern yet old-school thriller that nails that 80s genre structure—from the superhumanly charismatic villain to the clumsy young protagonist who evolves into a hardened hero... The result is incredibly good: beautifully shot, directed, and an atmospheric quasi-western that almost feels like a slasher, just swapping cold blades for bullets and students for cops.

I caught this one a few days ago, but I was too wiped out to write anything substantial then. So, here we go—though I won't pretend to be any smarter than the crew over at the yellow Title forum, whose review I basically agree with 100%.
Basically, Red Hill is a seriously solid modern revenge thriller western... incredibly bloody, super atmospheric (the cinematography is killer), and it’s got these subtle touches of the supernatural and mystical. The plot isn't reinventing the wheel, but the movie uses those clichés to its advantage and manages to evoke that old-school feeling of the classic westerns we loved watching as kids (burning Raider, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and all those spaghetti westerns). There are some plot holes that might make you go WTF at first glance, but they're easy enough to overlook. A striking, charismatic villain who stays mysterious until near the end, a cool mix of modern and period vibes, great music, solid acting, and strong direction... yeah, this movie hits the mark.
Highly recommended...

I just finished watching it... Generally speaking, the movie isn't bad, but I wasn't particularly blown away or left feeling anything intense (unlike some of those folks over at the yellow Title crowd, for instance). To be honest, the film is pretty much riddled with illogical, boneheaded decisions from the main characters—at one point, I almost jumped up and started yelling at my TV! Not to be entirely negative, though, there are definitely some awesome moments in there, and the acting isn't half bad either. All in all, it could have been executed much better. As it stands, it’s just a "good one-time watch" and nothing more.

Timothy Taylor42 said:I watched it... Generally, the movie isn't bad, but I wasn't exactly blown away or getting goosebumps like those folks over at yellow Title. It was just okay, honestly. The main characters make a series of totally brainless, illogical moves.Honestly, there was one part where I almost jumped up and started yelling at my TV. Look, it’s not all bad—there are some awesome moments in there, and the acting isn't half bad either. All in all, though, they really dropped the ball on the execution. It's just okay. It's a decent one-time watch. And that's it.

Ana... in your case, you'll probably end up watching this a few more times. I'm definitely grabbing a Blu-ray once it drops.

I mean, yeah... I agree there were a few WTF moments in the movie, and I pointed that out in my own comment too. But thinking back on those specific scenes after the credits rolled, almost all of them actually had a perfectly logical explanation for why things went down that way.

Spoilers!

For example...

WTF moment for me was when the main hero first came face-to-face with the big bad. They both had each other in their sights, and while I was watching the movie, I just thought, Why the hell isn't the kid shooting!? Then it clicked for me... yeah, in that part of the movie he’s still totally insecure. He's still haunted by what happened, still reeling from the trauma of killing that kid, so he basically lacks the balls to pull the trigger even with a notorious killer standing right in front of him. Plus, you've got civilians who could get caught in the crossfire, which is also why he decided to lower his weapon. But honestly, the guy just had fucking luck that things ended the way they did.

WTF moment for me was when one of the characters fires her revolver at the villain from just a few feet away, dumps four or five shots, and misses completely! Watching that, I was totally like, WTF! But then it clicked... back when everyone was regrouping in the Sheriff's office planning their move and grabbing their gear... she was the only one looking genuinely terrified and lost. She gripped that gun like a piece of junk and just stared at him like a deer in headlights. It’s pretty obvious the character has never even held a pistol in her life, let alone knows how to shoot. Plus, a minute before the shootout, she was in a car wreck, slammed her head against the steering wheel, and got a nasty cut—so her vision definitely wasn't crystal clear. On top of that, like I said, she's a coward, so fear and adrenaline were definitely messing with her head. In the end, that missed shot actually gave the movie a slightly supernatural vibe, which I actually liked.
I also went on the message Board later regarding that movie to ask how such a thing could even happen, only to see a response from a veteran officer confirming that it’s actually possible...

WTF moment... actually, it wasn't even a WTF moment, just a sloppy sequence in my opinion. It’s that classic trope where the main villain grabs the hero and hauls him out of town to leave him tied up. When that happened, I figured he'd need some serious time to first get free, and then trek all the way back to town since he doesn't know the area and it's pitch black—he'd have no clue what kind of hellhole he was dropped in. But in just three shots—first he "breaks free," second he's walking down a dark road with the city in the distance, and by the third, he's already back in town. He's back in the game!
In my opinion, that might be the biggest plot hole in the whole movie. I was fully expecting something big to go down while he was heading back to town—like him picking off at least one more guy since it took him so long to get back—but nope, it was just a total intermission...

END SPOILER

When you step back and look at the big picture... despite those hiccups, this is a really solid film. The atmosphere and cinematography are killer, and the directing and acting ultimately carried it home. Honestly, thinking about it now, I’m definitely putting this in my top 10 movies of 2010...🙂

One total WTF moment is when this guy with a short-barreled shotgun fires from like a hundred yards away and it hits just as if he were using a hunting rifle (which is what the guy who got hit was actually using) — in real life, he would've missed by a mile 😁

Watched it last night, I'll get to the comments later, but it turned out to be a pretty interesting flick.

briskhound2 said:One WTF moment is when the guy with the shotgun fires from like a hundred yards away and it hits just like he's using a hunting rifle (which is what the victim was actually using)—he’d miss by a mile in real life.😁

Watched it last night. I'll leave more comments later, but it turned out to be an interesting little flick.

Do you think he takes out that "sniper" on the roof? I think he shot him with a revolver... not a shotgun...

@Anthony Smith3/">@@Anthony Smith3, look, let me be clear—the movie isn't bad, nor is it a total disaster. I have to admit, after reading all those reviews online about it being a "brilliant American cowboy thriller," I was expecting just a little bit more. What I actually got was a pretty average flick full of clichés where you basically figure out the ending within the first thirty minutes. It feels unnecessarily "hyped up," so you go in expecting to be totally blown away by the end. Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I had just stumbled upon it by accident. Taking your WTF perspective into account, I didn't see anything particularly spectacular or unique here. My final takeaway? It's just a simple, mediocre movie that's fine for a one-time watch.

Anthony Smith3 said:Do you mean when he takes out that "sniper" on the roof? I think he actually popped him with a revolver... not a shotgun...

From what I gathered, it was a shotgun shot—from horseback, during that turn right when he caught his reflection in the glass.

Initial thoughts... honestly, a bit of a pleasant surprise. It’s got this almost forgotten vibe of old-school Western shootouts, which works really well when paired with the fun genre tropes—you know, the mysterious stranger, that tiny town tucked away in the middle of nowhere... the cast is solid enough and fits the world perfectly, and the plot holds together well enough to support all the onscreen chaos. My one gripe is how the perspective jumps around between characters; it's not necessarily a flaw that there isn't one central lead, but it would've felt much tighter if we stayed glued to the rookie's eyes instead of cutting to the victims or the killer (who isn't even that interesting)—staying with the newcomer would have been more effective for me... but hey, a job well done (thanks for the rec, Anthony) and I'll probably give it another watch down the road.

briskhound2 said:I caught him through my scope while I was on horseback—saw his reflection in the glass just as he was turning around.

Yeah... coming out of nowhere... straight from the revolver... 100%.👍 I checked...

briskhound2 said:Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s got that old-school Western shootout vibe you don't see much anymore, which works great with all the classic tropes—mysterious strangers, dusty little towns out in the middle of nowhere, all that stuff. The acting is solid enough to fit the mood, and the plot actually holds together through all the action. My one gripe is how much the POV jumps around between characters. It’s not that I need a single protagonist, but it would’ve been way more effective to stick with the rookie instead of constantly flipping between the victims and the killer. It wasn't exactly riveting, to be honest. It probably would’ve been more efficient if I'd just stuck to the beginner stuff, but it was time well spent (thanks for the tip, Anthony Smith3). I'll likely give it another watch.

Glad you liked the movie.🙂

The way I saw it... the movie starts through this rookie's eyes, but as it peels back the layers of what actually went down and digs into the villain's backstory, he starts becoming a massive part of the whole story.