This production nailed a few things. One, is the self-awareness that IT KNOWS that it's gone off the deep end. Every dust particle, dry shrub, and wooden panel amounts to a resounding portrait of this film's disdain of the west. The film is obsessive but subtle in its metaphorical foreshadowing and the groundwork laid out manages to prepare the audience for the 2-hour torture chamber.
The other are the unforgettable performances and chemistry (or intended lack of it). What these characters do to each other, and what they go through, transform into, is spiritually connected to the worst of the human nature we can relate to.
That's really the movie magic here. I wanted to see more of these characters, but I can assure you the meat the audience will chew off are the juicy performances of depraved humanity. There seems to be some sort of insatiable demand for this type of thing...
And now, the bad.
The blood effects are cheesy, some scenes are far too excruciating to sit through, the stereotypes feel more redneck-ish and not pioneer- ish, and the final result is a pointless exercise. I can tell the writers struggled with a satisfying ending to their half-baked escapade into nihilism.
The film could have very easily been set in the post-apocalypse. Those types of films intend to "hollow you out", westerns are supposed to "grind you down". Ask yourself, how many apocalyptic-themed films you've seen with unsatisfying ending, and how many westerns you've seen with satisfying endings? Challenge yourself to watch this film, and tell me if that distinction ISN'T clear to you.
This film reflects the losing battle the western has with Hollywood and the contempt it projects onto 19th century conservatism. This film reminded me that having characters sound like hillbillies and setting it in the desert, is not enough for it to be considered "a western". Outlaws and Angels doesn't spend enough time appreciating what made westerns special, and maybe not enough time appreciating what keeps the world together.
The other are the unforgettable performances and chemistry (or intended lack of it). What these characters do to each other, and what they go through, transform into, is spiritually connected to the worst of the human nature we can relate to.
That's really the movie magic here. I wanted to see more of these characters, but I can assure you the meat the audience will chew off are the juicy performances of depraved humanity. There seems to be some sort of insatiable demand for this type of thing...
And now, the bad.
The blood effects are cheesy, some scenes are far too excruciating to sit through, the stereotypes feel more redneck-ish and not pioneer- ish, and the final result is a pointless exercise. I can tell the writers struggled with a satisfying ending to their half-baked escapade into nihilism.
The film could have very easily been set in the post-apocalypse. Those types of films intend to "hollow you out", westerns are supposed to "grind you down". Ask yourself, how many apocalyptic-themed films you've seen with unsatisfying ending, and how many westerns you've seen with satisfying endings? Challenge yourself to watch this film, and tell me if that distinction ISN'T clear to you.
This film reflects the losing battle the western has with Hollywood and the contempt it projects onto 19th century conservatism. This film reminded me that having characters sound like hillbillies and setting it in the desert, is not enough for it to be considered "a western". Outlaws and Angels doesn't spend enough time appreciating what made westerns special, and maybe not enough time appreciating what keeps the world together.