Horsemen (2009)

A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between a serial killing spree and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Director:

Jonas Åkerlund

Writer:

Dave Callaham (as David Callaham)

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Aidan Breslin
Ziyi Zhang	...	Kristin
Lou Taylor Pucci	...	Alex Breslin
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Stingray
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Tuck
Patrick Fugit	...	Corey
Eric Balfour	...	Taylor
Paul Dooley	...	Father Whiteleather
Thomas Mitchell	...	Thug
Liam James	...	Sean Breslin
Chelcie Ross	...	Police Chief Krupa
Manfred Maretzki	...	Bob
Arne MacPherson	...	Navratil
David Dastmalchian	...	Terrence
Peter Stormare	...	David Spitz

Storyline

Aidan Breslin is a bitter detective emotionally distanced from his two young sons following the untimely death of his devoted wife. While investigating a series of murders of rare violence, he discovers a terrifying link between a chain of murders and the Biblical prophecies concerning the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Conquest.

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Plot Keywords:

bible quote | death | murder | forensic dentist | homosexual | 

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Taglines:

Four victims. Four painful secrets.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for grisly and disturbing content, some sexual images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [United States] Metropolitan Films [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Horseman

Filming Locations:

Bell Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandate Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Radar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To prep for her role (and to improve on her English), Ziyi Zhang briefly moved in with a New York family.

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Goofs

At the part when Det. Breslin (Dennis Quaid) figures out his sons are in trouble and drives to pick up Sean there is a Canadian flag visible on top the the buildings in the background.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Det. Aidan J. Breslin: Hi there.

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Connections

References Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005)

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Soundtracks

Big Bopper
Performed by Stephen O'Neill
Published by NorthStar Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS)
By arrangement through pigFACTORY USA LLC. /Platinum Music Publishing

User Reviews

Staple horror and thoroughly generic

By-the-numbers gore flick isn't especially bad, but sterile acting and disjointed direction hinder it entirely.

Dennis Quaid (gloriously miscast) is Aidan Breslin, a detective specialising in some teeth identification discipline. He's called to a case whereby teeth alone have been left, and the more the case heats up, he discovers the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are being emulated and murdering victims in 'homage' to them.

The premise is certainly half decent, with a biblical reference always adding spice to horror, such is the visceral underbelly such association can produce. The problem is the production and casting, not to mention plot development.

Horsemen suffers a disjointed structure, with extremely poor characterisation and seam-filled editing causing a stop-start judder to permeate throughout. This isn't helped by the fact that every role is miscast, from the 'doing it for the money' Quaid as troubled Breslin, Ziyi Zhang as troubled Kristen, and Lou Taylor Pucci as troubled Alex.

Every character appears to have personal demons apart from Stingray and Tuck, who both look like actors in the wrong movie.

These foibles aside the horror effects are rather inconsistent - the first body looks plainly like a dummy, and no amount of garish red lighting hides that fact - thereafter they do pick up a bit, but it's a bad start.

And the characterisation, as mentioned, is really poor - the viewer isn't moved to care about anyone, and certain character introductions are clunky and badly handled. The feeble and ineffective acting certainly doesn't aid this.

In summary if you want horror by the numbers with a hint of whodunnit, there are worse than Horsemen. But there are much much better too.