SXSW Review: The Horseman

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but there's nothing quite like meting out instant vengeance with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers. In the world according to Steven Kastrissios' The Horseman, it's a testicle for a vagina instead of an eye for an eye.

Christian Forteski (Peter Marshall) is devastated when he learns that his daughter has died, but he completely falls apart when he's informed that she overdosed on drugs. His grief turns to unbridled anger when he receives a videotape in the mail, showing several men having sex with the glassy-eyed, sad-looking young woman, and he sets off to kill the bastards.

It doesn't feel accurate to describe The Horseman as a "thriller" because there's nothing in it that provides typical action movie thrills: no car chases, no wisecracks to relieve the tension, no triumphant moments of celebration. It's a movie to be endured rather than enjoyed, which doesn't mean the film lacks artistry or restraint. Writer/director Steven Kastrissios creates a pulverizing experience, yet for all the blood, broken bones, and brutality, The Horseman holds back at key moments, allowing the mind to fill in the blanks of (most of) the money shots.

Make no mistake, however: the pit of my stomach was pleading for release from the very first sequence.

That sequence establishes Christian as a violent man without explaining who he is and why he's doing terrible things. Although some of the details are filled in later, Christian's true motives remain unclear. He professes deep love for his daughter, so how did she end up addicted to drugs? What kind of relationship did they really have? Is he driven by guilt or remorse over something he did, or didn't do? Why did his marriage fail? What doesn't he have any friends? Why doesn't he trust the authorities to handle things? How long has he had anger management issues? And from what black hole in his soul emerged the idea and capacity to torture people with sharp objects in his toolbox?

For all the evidence that Christian has been consumed by furious rage, his quiet, lovingly paternal side slips out in his dealings with the teen-aged Alice (Caroline Marohasy, in her first film role). He gives her a ride in his car right after he's set somebody on fire, so her life appears to be in imminent danger. Instead, Alice becomes a stand-in, a lost girl with big eyes and big problems, someone Christian might be able to save from the fate suffered by his dearly-departed daughter.

Christian's rampage up the porn food chain is not without consequences. No one will give up information without a punishing battle, and Christian absorbs as much pain as he dispenses before he takes out his deadly little pocket knife to finish the job. The fights may begin with a well-timed sucker punch, but they quickly descend into inelegant, dirty grappling matches, fists flying, bodies shoved into furniture, and kicks delivered to groins. It hurts just to watch.

It's a credit to Peter Marshall that he imbues Christian with both murderous menace and a degree of sympathy. We may not fully understand the character, but we gradually lean toward sympathy for him.

The Horseman is the first feature by writer/director Kastrissios, and he does not entirely resist the temptation to indulge occasionally in cheap theatrics and nick-of-time salvations. The movie is obviously in debt to revenge flicks of the past, things like Death Wish and Mad Max, as well as less obvious ones such as The Crow, The Limey, and Dead Man's Shoes, the latter three films cited specifically by the director in the post-screening Q&A as influences. Still, Kastrissios recognizes that less is more, and the result is very lean, very mean, and very promising for his future.

As the end credits began to roll, my stomach finally began to unclench and I let out a sigh of relief. I felt like the survivor of a car wreck: glad to be alive, hoping I would never have to deal with that again.

The Horseman had its North American premiere earlier this week as part of the SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight series. The Australian film does not currently have US distribution.