15 reviews
- FlashCallahan
- Nov 25, 2016
- Permalink
The Plot.
Laine, a young woman on the run from the law, turns up at the Frontier, an isolated desert diner and motel.
She is offered a job by Luanne, the owner, and, hoping to lose herself in the obscurity of the place, accepts the job. But soon Laine realizes she has stumbled into an even bigger and more dangerous situation.
Firstly, i like the Twin Peaks look of the film. But it's very slow and the female lead is not a particularly good actress. She brings the movie down.
The dialog is second rate. It's hard to emulate Lynch because he's genuinely quirky and knows how to make it work. In fact, the more I watched this film, the more I felt it was just a Lynch rip off thank anything else.
Laine, a young woman on the run from the law, turns up at the Frontier, an isolated desert diner and motel.
She is offered a job by Luanne, the owner, and, hoping to lose herself in the obscurity of the place, accepts the job. But soon Laine realizes she has stumbled into an even bigger and more dangerous situation.
Firstly, i like the Twin Peaks look of the film. But it's very slow and the female lead is not a particularly good actress. She brings the movie down.
The dialog is second rate. It's hard to emulate Lynch because he's genuinely quirky and knows how to make it work. In fact, the more I watched this film, the more I felt it was just a Lynch rip off thank anything else.
I just finished watching this, I gave it a 7 due to the great way they filmed this, you swear it's a film made and set in the 70's, the grainy look, the set, the music, everything even down to the 70's kinda storyline, cars and clothing, extremely well done, even at the end the music score sounds if it's from the 70's.
Nothing new as yeah everything has been sort of done, but the cast is solid, simple but effective story line, but a rare sort of film that fools you thinking its years old.
7 out of 10
And here is some text so IMDb will publish my short review.
Nothing new as yeah everything has been sort of done, but the cast is solid, simple but effective story line, but a rare sort of film that fools you thinking its years old.
7 out of 10
And here is some text so IMDb will publish my short review.
I can appreciate a decent low budget film... You definitely don't need big names or lots of money to make a half way decent movie. This one however doesn't even come close. It has some of the WORST acting I've seen in recent memory. I take that back, I mean EVER. It might have been okay if it wasn't for that actually. Holy cow this is BADDDDDD. The ending actually made me laugh, and yes, I actually made it that far. I think I was so appalled I couldn't look away. Like a car accident. That's what this is, a hot hot mess.
- spacegirlsunday
- Oct 1, 2018
- Permalink
Whos says 1970s maxi skirts, wrinkly pantyhose and unkempt, brown hair can't be sexy! Jocelyn Donahue, as Laine definitely pulls off a convincing performance of a sweet girl in a dangerously wrong situation, who wriggles through perilous scrapes with the innocence of a lamb, though, as we soon find she is neither of the two. Though "The Frontier" has the appearance of a 70s TV Movie, with suitable, "barn-find" automobiles and even more antiquated TV sets(!) the action keeps one guessing (admittedly unsubtle), and the script never fails to spring surprises, right to the end. The medium budget drama has both the aura of a road movie and a Western, but in this Western you tend to have just the Bad and the Ugly. In this respect "The Frontier" reminded me of "The Hateful Eight" (2015). Both movies tend also to be pretty liberal in the mistreatment of women, but in taking sexual equality at face value all's fair in love and Hollywood. I think it is more a movie for the guys, thanks to the presence of Laine, doubtless prissily pretty, never showing too much to prove it. The character of Flyn the Englishman was pretty weak, thanks to his difficulty in mastering the tongue, but if you remember only the goofs of a movie it tends to be a "baddun" - right?. "The Frontier", thankfully does have one or two saving graces, e.g. that pass-the-parcel swag- bag of dollars, the ruthless internecine bumping off of adversaries and that all so understandable corruptibility of humans.
- refordgarry
- Nov 24, 2016
- Permalink
I don't know how a movie made in 2015 can look this bad. Perhaps they found a lot of tech from the 1970s lying around and had a bunch of people living in old age homes write the story, screenplay and direct the movie.
You could film a prettier looking movie with an iPhone. Low budget trash.
You could film a prettier looking movie with an iPhone. Low budget trash.
- self-username
- Oct 30, 2021
- Permalink
A gritty American Southwest flick, The Frontier manages to capture a western outlaw atmosphere in a rustic wind blown environment.
A pretty, mysterious girl named Laine driving across the Arizona desert becomes temporarily employed at a diner to make up for food & lodging. The residents and customers therein are a motley lot, each with their own disturbing secrets, and each sharing a collective one as well. There's Eddie the rebel {a brash leather-clad young man reminiscent of Jim Stark/James Dean}; couple Gloria & Flynn are a British gentleman & a Jayne Mansfield-type girlfriend; Luanne, an eccentric former showgirl {diner owner, glamorous yet quite neurotic}; Lee is a stony bearded professor-like gentleman; & Officer Gault comes and goes, reminding one of a William Shatner character*, who takes a shine to Laine, especially evident in the end. Incidentally, despite a very close call with The Reaper, Laine merges with the unlikely crew of malfeasants awaiting their ill- gotten reward, utilizing venomous trickery to gain her own deadly remuneration.
With various unexpected twists and turns, the dangerous path throughout The Frontier leads to surprise lethal treasures awaiting those with a ruthlessly lawless disposition, where few survive. ∞
_____________
* i.e., Mark Preston of The Devil's Rain, Rack Hansen of Kingdom of The Spiders.
A pretty, mysterious girl named Laine driving across the Arizona desert becomes temporarily employed at a diner to make up for food & lodging. The residents and customers therein are a motley lot, each with their own disturbing secrets, and each sharing a collective one as well. There's Eddie the rebel {a brash leather-clad young man reminiscent of Jim Stark/James Dean}; couple Gloria & Flynn are a British gentleman & a Jayne Mansfield-type girlfriend; Luanne, an eccentric former showgirl {diner owner, glamorous yet quite neurotic}; Lee is a stony bearded professor-like gentleman; & Officer Gault comes and goes, reminding one of a William Shatner character*, who takes a shine to Laine, especially evident in the end. Incidentally, despite a very close call with The Reaper, Laine merges with the unlikely crew of malfeasants awaiting their ill- gotten reward, utilizing venomous trickery to gain her own deadly remuneration.
With various unexpected twists and turns, the dangerous path throughout The Frontier leads to surprise lethal treasures awaiting those with a ruthlessly lawless disposition, where few survive. ∞
_____________
* i.e., Mark Preston of The Devil's Rain, Rack Hansen of Kingdom of The Spiders.
- DBlackthorne
- Nov 17, 2016
- Permalink
The Frontier is an old fashioned thriller washed in the aesthetics of the Southwest and the Seventies. It feels old and timeless but also modern and crisp. The brisk pace and interesting characters makes the movie fly by. I highly recommend it.
- ecmelton-186-105049
- May 21, 2019
- Permalink
I think this was actually a very good film! I wasn't expecting much, but it's one of those films that don't appear to have a promising plot at first, but then it grows on you through the good acting and the steadily increasing suspense!
I just love the way Laine evolves as a character, or rather how we as viewers change the way we see her as the movie goes on... Very fine piece of characterization!
Some crime thriller taking place in a run-down motel off some desert road doesn't sound like a big deal, but this IS a very good suspense thriller, with a lot of unexpected plot twists! It had me at the edge of my seat for most of the second half. It's not the setting or even the events themselves that make for a GREAT film, it's the way they get to us as viewers, and this film really got to me :)
So I'd recommend this film to all lovers of suspenseful, unexpected thrillers :D
I just love the way Laine evolves as a character, or rather how we as viewers change the way we see her as the movie goes on... Very fine piece of characterization!
Some crime thriller taking place in a run-down motel off some desert road doesn't sound like a big deal, but this IS a very good suspense thriller, with a lot of unexpected plot twists! It had me at the edge of my seat for most of the second half. It's not the setting or even the events themselves that make for a GREAT film, it's the way they get to us as viewers, and this film really got to me :)
So I'd recommend this film to all lovers of suspenseful, unexpected thrillers :D
- degryse-44101
- Nov 26, 2016
- Permalink
Oren Shai's The Frontier is a slick Americana genre throwback, that truly makes me pine for the good ole days.
I was lucky enough to catch this film at SXSW, and it was glorious to watch on the big screen. Shot on gorgeous Super 16mm with wardrobe and production design that leap off the screen like a pulp novel come to life.
Laine arrives at The Frontier motel on the run from her problems, and she encounters a cast of characters with their own secrets to hide.
Jocelin Donahue is superb as Laine, the girl on the run who uses her wits to stay one step ahead of everyone. This is truly a demanding role that she excels in, as she's on-screen for virtually the entire film. If this were a pulp book, I'd gladly read the next 10-20 episodes of her story.
If I watched this in a drive in I'd have a hard time not thinking that I've gone back in time to 1974. So forget whatever tentpole blockbuster schlock that you're going to pay exorbitant prices to see at the local megaplex. Instead, let's turn the dial back and settle in to watch interesting people, behaving badly.
I was lucky enough to catch this film at SXSW, and it was glorious to watch on the big screen. Shot on gorgeous Super 16mm with wardrobe and production design that leap off the screen like a pulp novel come to life.
Laine arrives at The Frontier motel on the run from her problems, and she encounters a cast of characters with their own secrets to hide.
Jocelin Donahue is superb as Laine, the girl on the run who uses her wits to stay one step ahead of everyone. This is truly a demanding role that she excels in, as she's on-screen for virtually the entire film. If this were a pulp book, I'd gladly read the next 10-20 episodes of her story.
If I watched this in a drive in I'd have a hard time not thinking that I've gone back in time to 1974. So forget whatever tentpole blockbuster schlock that you're going to pay exorbitant prices to see at the local megaplex. Instead, let's turn the dial back and settle in to watch interesting people, behaving badly.
- rob-m-neilson
- Dec 17, 2016
- Permalink
With its stylish cinematography and labyrinthine plot The Frontier is up there as one of the best of the bygone era of intentionally slow paced, suspenseful, well crafted film making. If you miss the films of yesteryear, the ones that had grit, character and an aesthetic sensibility, then you are going to want to see The Frontier. This film has all of that and then some.
Director Oren Shai takes you in to a dreamy, shadowy world that looks a lot like the covers of the hard-boiled pulp novels of the 50's and 60's. Every shot is gorgeously cinematic and my favorite thing about this movie is how much space Shai gives the viewer just to observe and revel in moments between the dialogue. The story is told as much through a frame on a characters face with a certain look in their eye, or a shot of landscape that portrays the remote emptiness they are surrounded by, as it is by its clever sharp-tongued dialogue. A haunting score adds to the richness of the visuals as well.
I won't give too much away about the plot, but the story centers around Laine (exquisitely played by Jocelin Donahue) who we don't know much about except that she's a girl on the run. Where she came from or where she's going nobody knows. All we know is that she stumbles upon a kooky set of misfit thieves, awaiting their loot in a dusty motel in the desert, and she seems to be trying to escape danger but has landed in to something that could be far worse. But the heroine is up to tricks of her own and soon we can't tell if she's the one in trouble or the one making it. The plot that starts off steady and cool, quickly becomes a roller coaster ride of twisty turns, girls with guns, double crossing, triple crossing and good guys gone bad, bad guys gone even worse. It's great fun to watch and just when you think you know what's happening, you're on to another jaw-dropping scenario.
All in all, it's very entertaining but also a great piece art. I'm very happy to have discovered this hidden gem and I highly recommend!
Director Oren Shai takes you in to a dreamy, shadowy world that looks a lot like the covers of the hard-boiled pulp novels of the 50's and 60's. Every shot is gorgeously cinematic and my favorite thing about this movie is how much space Shai gives the viewer just to observe and revel in moments between the dialogue. The story is told as much through a frame on a characters face with a certain look in their eye, or a shot of landscape that portrays the remote emptiness they are surrounded by, as it is by its clever sharp-tongued dialogue. A haunting score adds to the richness of the visuals as well.
I won't give too much away about the plot, but the story centers around Laine (exquisitely played by Jocelin Donahue) who we don't know much about except that she's a girl on the run. Where she came from or where she's going nobody knows. All we know is that she stumbles upon a kooky set of misfit thieves, awaiting their loot in a dusty motel in the desert, and she seems to be trying to escape danger but has landed in to something that could be far worse. But the heroine is up to tricks of her own and soon we can't tell if she's the one in trouble or the one making it. The plot that starts off steady and cool, quickly becomes a roller coaster ride of twisty turns, girls with guns, double crossing, triple crossing and good guys gone bad, bad guys gone even worse. It's great fun to watch and just when you think you know what's happening, you're on to another jaw-dropping scenario.
All in all, it's very entertaining but also a great piece art. I'm very happy to have discovered this hidden gem and I highly recommend!
Oren Shai knows his archetypes, and plays brilliantly with them in this film-literate, paperback movie, artfully constructed with a wonderfully enigmatic central performance by Jocelin Donahue, playing a role similar to Nic Cage in RED ROCK WEST. The comparison is one that kept popping up in my mind. Both titles suggest Westerns but are in reality dusty, Southwestern Noirs, Both have the lead stumbling into a criminal scheme and then creating their own. Similar, also, is Shai's film to John Dahl's follow-up Noir, THE LAST SEDUCTION, in which we follow the femme fatale, instead of the tragic male.
If made in the 90's, like the aforementioned pictures, I think this would be enjoying a wide-release right now. It clearly has the skill behind it. Shai is a beautiful stylist, creating the timeless palate of a decade never mentioned, but most likely the 70's, given the cars and wardrobe. However, the actors put their spin on movie stars of decades previous. There's Kelly Lynch doing her version of Gloria Swanson, Richard Harris doing his Errol Flynn, and Jim Beaver doing a Lee Marvin. Beaver stands out as the strongest.
As much as the film portrays a slice of Americana Pulp, there's something almost European about the execution. It bypasses the luridness of the genre, and instead focusing on the lead, Donahue; photographing her lovingly, magnetically, like a muse, with long contemplative zooms. She has never looked better. And although we never fully learn about her character, she brings her inherent likability to it. She can be the Margot Kidder of our generation.
Although it starts rather seriously, there is a streak of black humor laced throughout that begins to escalate, climaxing with a delirious shift by Kelly Lynch. I suggest watching with an audience to bring out the potential camp.
Oh, and it's shot on 16mm. What else do you want?
If made in the 90's, like the aforementioned pictures, I think this would be enjoying a wide-release right now. It clearly has the skill behind it. Shai is a beautiful stylist, creating the timeless palate of a decade never mentioned, but most likely the 70's, given the cars and wardrobe. However, the actors put their spin on movie stars of decades previous. There's Kelly Lynch doing her version of Gloria Swanson, Richard Harris doing his Errol Flynn, and Jim Beaver doing a Lee Marvin. Beaver stands out as the strongest.
As much as the film portrays a slice of Americana Pulp, there's something almost European about the execution. It bypasses the luridness of the genre, and instead focusing on the lead, Donahue; photographing her lovingly, magnetically, like a muse, with long contemplative zooms. She has never looked better. And although we never fully learn about her character, she brings her inherent likability to it. She can be the Margot Kidder of our generation.
Although it starts rather seriously, there is a streak of black humor laced throughout that begins to escalate, climaxing with a delirious shift by Kelly Lynch. I suggest watching with an audience to bring out the potential camp.
Oh, and it's shot on 16mm. What else do you want?
- davidaguglielmo
- Dec 6, 2016
- Permalink
I like it so much, classic movie was filmed recently I was surprised that movie was filmed in 2015, I was expecting it was filmed in 90s,
I don't get the it looks.....like it was made in the 70's, well people.. it's obviously set in that period, judging by all the 70's clothing style and cars, and like a lot of great 70's movies, for example Vanishing Point, The French Connection, Bullitt, to name but three, it is all the better for it.
I just do not understand the negative 70's comments, they are clearly made by sub age 40's film watchers, more in tune with todays bang... bang and Fast 'n' Boring style movies, with fake cgi, that you don't have to think to hard when you watch them.
Ok so this movie is a little B movie in it's style, but for all that I actually enjoyed it way more than I was expecting, the acting and plot is very good, and if you like some substance in your movie plots then give it a watch, I don't think you will be disappointed.
I just do not understand the negative 70's comments, they are clearly made by sub age 40's film watchers, more in tune with todays bang... bang and Fast 'n' Boring style movies, with fake cgi, that you don't have to think to hard when you watch them.
Ok so this movie is a little B movie in it's style, but for all that I actually enjoyed it way more than I was expecting, the acting and plot is very good, and if you like some substance in your movie plots then give it a watch, I don't think you will be disappointed.
- vikingtales
- Apr 29, 2024
- Permalink
I watched this on cable late one night. I knew it was going to be low budget but boy I was in for a surprise. This has got to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen! I (assume) the filmmakers were trying to make a legitimate movie but it actually SO bad it is good. The dialogue is unintentionally hysterical. The acting is either tongue in cheek or just plain awful.
Have you ever watched something where you almost peed your pants? This is it! Poor Kelly Lynch. She went from being a knockout sexpot (Cocktail, Road House) to looking like she needs a transfusion.
I would be glad to talk to anyone about this film. Call me 727-735-7976
Have you ever watched something where you almost peed your pants? This is it! Poor Kelly Lynch. She went from being a knockout sexpot (Cocktail, Road House) to looking like she needs a transfusion.
I would be glad to talk to anyone about this film. Call me 727-735-7976
- movieguy-77515
- Jul 8, 2017
- Permalink