Organ Trail

Cinematography is great. Organ Trail (2023) captures a gritty and realistic antipastoral west. The first few minutes of the film are great, even the bloody and graphic violence is not off-putting. However, just as one grows to like the characters they are killed off. From this point on, the film stalls out. There are a lot of scenes with travelling and a stationary scene in a western ghost town. However, the language detracts from the film, as there is not a lot of interesting dialogue. Attempts at comedic relief are made about an hour into the film where four-letter profanities are passed off as humorous. As the film equivalent of a walking simulator, the film has great scenery. Its a bit slow paced but contains well received visuals. The film contains false endings and over the top action near the climax that detracts from the film. Most of the characters are flat and un-interesting, leaving little to grasp on to aside from cinematography and visuals. Well shot cinematography makes the film.

This was a solid western/drama/thriller and a little horror. One plus is it's filmed on location in Montana. It's a nice back drop for a dark and dreary period western.

Overall it's a bit long, some of the scenes are too extended and unnecessary. That being said the film is pretty well acted and directed. A lot of panning shots of Montana and some pretty good sfx, fire scenes and other elements.

There's also some pretty solid character build up and arcs which do take time to develop. It's definitely low budget and most of the actors are all still in their early stages of their careers.

Overall, enjoyable effort that drives some pretty good tension and the score isn't bad either 6/10.

I really tried to like this movie because I like westerns, but this movie could have been about hikers, campers, or just people lost in the woods. Scenery and music does not "make" a movie, and although there is some decent scenery the aggravating score does nothing to help this clinker. The story seems to drag and would have made a good 20 minuter TV show, but not a full length movie. There were too many characters to develop in the time it took to drag this movie to a conclusion. A little more actual story and a lot less unnecessary shots of people walking back and forth in the distance might have made this a better movie. The bad guys just need to be bad guys, and not spend every scene proving how bad they are. This director should learn to tell a story, and not waste film. Sad... because this story had some potential but it got lost by actors trying to be evil Clint Eastwoods. There is a great deal of stupid and unnecessary dialogue that make this movie forgettable. A better title would have been Dragging Trail. Not one of my favorites by any means.

My expectations were low. I am a huge lover of low budget films. However this was so wonky with its time frame and how historically things would have been done....its a joke. Not semi-realistic in any sense. What creates true fear is knowing it could have realistically happened. During that time period, your weapon meant everything. That means your most prized possession was your rifle. So people are going west with muzzle loaders when lever actions were all the rage as well as metallic cartridge revolver rounds? Obviously this director....nor does anyone else who has work on this know what the hell they are doing or talking about.

I recently viewed Organ Trail (2023) on Paramount+. The storyline follows a young lady in the 1800s Midwest with no family, friends, or means for survival but her family horse. When a ruthless band of outlaws steals her horse, leaving her for dead, she embarks on a perilous mission to recover it, putting herself and everyone who aids her at risk.

This picture is directed by Michael Patrick Jann, in his major motion picture debut, and stars Zoé De Grand Maison (Riverdale), Mather Zickel (I Love You, Man), Lisa LoCicero (Rush Hour 2) and Nicholas Logan (The Best of Enemies)

The movie is a mixed bag. The settings, attire, and props create a perfect look and feel. However, the storyline, dialogue, and acting struggle with authenticity, although Nicholas Logan's portrayal of the villain stands out, reminiscent of a young Michael Rooker. The kills are average and disappointing, but surprisingly, the ending surpassed my expectations.

In conclusion, Organ Trail is an uneven film with some redeeming elements preventing it from being a complete disaster. I would give it a 4/10 and recommend skipping it.