Customer Reviews

Shiloh Falls

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I took a chance on this movie, because I hadn't heard much about it, and boy am I glad! This movie was a fun adventure with Western flair that my whole family enjoyed.

Here's a western that you can watch with your whole family. There is some beautiful scenery and an intriguing plot line that kept me interested to the end.

Pulls off a fun, entertaining, period western for a fraction of the typical Hollywood production budget!

This film is a western drama with science fiction and horror elements. In 1872 two criminals rob a stagecoach, kill a stage coach driver, and force another driver to open a mysterious crate. When the box is opened, we see a pendant that emits a strange light. The light envelopes the stage coach driver who suddenly becomes stronger. He attacks one of the criminals and kills him. Twenty years later, the other criminal escapes from jail with two confederates. He is determined to kill the stagecoach driver who killed his brother. The three escapees are pursued by a sheriff and his son, who is his deputy. The son stumbles on a grave site of the brother and stage coach driver and notices that they were killed on the day he was born.

The sheriff and his son find the outlaws in a strange town, Shilo Falls, where all the people look and act strangely. One of the escapees shoots a citizen who does not die. They soon discover that the citizens of the town "have no spirit...they don't eat or drink...and he keeps them alive." The "he," they soon see, is the man who opened the box and killed the brother of the escaped convict. He is controlling the town citizens who act like zombies.

Will the sheriff and his son be able to overcome the man with the unusual power from the light? What is the light? What exactly is the power? Is there significance in the fact that the sheriff's son was born on the very day that the light was revealed? Will the two lawmen have to join forces with the escaped convicts to overcome the mysterious man? What will happen to them and the town people? Does the film answer all of these questions?

I don't know whether Shiloh Falls should fall under the category of sci-fi or just plain horror but whatever the case, it's certainly NOT a western!

Oh sure, the first 10 minutes of film definitely TRICK you into thinking it's a typical western with cowboys riding horses and pulling guns on each other, but after that one brief scene... this storyline changes *drastically*.

It's about an evil man who wanders around in an old ghost town of some sorts (don't know if it's actually considered a ghost town) and he actually STEALS peoples souls! Yes, I too was quite surprised when this part of the storytelling entered the picture.

It's definitely a cheesy idea for a storyline, especially when you're tricked into thinking it's a western and something else entirely.

Anyway, a few cowboys (along with a few teens) have to do everything in their power to completely avoid coming into contact with this evil man (along with the rest of the townspeople) so their souls aren't taken. BOY was it hard writing a sentence like that without laughing a little bit, but I somehow managed to do it!

Anyway, despite having to put up with some incredibly cheesy dialogue for the majority of the suspenseful parts (like the segments where the cowboys have to stay hidden inside a cabin of sorts, completely away from danger) I thought Shiloh Falls did a decent job building up an atmosphere. Granted, it's a *tiny* atmosphere. Nothing we haven't seen before (and better) in other sci-fi and horror films.

Oh and... oops! There was one scene where the cowboys were supposed to be completely hidden and away from danger, but um... they were literally standing just a few feet away from the evil townspeople and apparently went completely unnoticed by every single one of them. That was one strange moment.

Overall, no, this is definitely NOT a classic, haha. There's many flaws with this film, and most of them are immediately noticeable. It feels even cheesier than most, and at times even feels like a homemade horror storyline with low budget camera work and production and whatnot.

Still, you could definitely do worse than this. At least it kept my interest for the majority of it, and the acting is good enough to give the writers some credit.

Oh, and the special effects were really neat as well, but it could very well be that I just like them because seeing glowing orbs and whatnot in a dark cowboy setting looks pretty darn cool.

First off... this is NOT a "western". It's more like a sci-fi/thriller set in a western setting. Calling this a "western" would be like calling "The Martian Chronicles" a "western". Bradubry would not approve.

If you go in expecting "Western", you will come out disappointed - or perhaps bewildered.

But, if you go in thinking "What if they made 'Hotel California' into a movie?" ...You'll be quite satisfied.

I really do not understand all the bad reviews. I thought the acting was pretty good, really. More realistic than the typical blockbuster, superhero, uber-star, "I wanna be the next Eastwood" hollywood nonsense.

The characters, the costumes, the sets were all really good. And the town of Shilo Falls, when you first come into it, really catches the spirit of "creepiness" at it's core. Watching that was about the closest thing I could imagine to actually seeing a ghost walking around in broad daylight. You could feel the tension as though you were there.

So, overall, I was quite happy with it. I rarely watch "sci-fi channel" type stuff, but this was an enjoyable watch.

Just don't get your expectations up for a cowboy western.

It's a sci-fi western with a ghost story twist.

I could not, or would not, watch this movie without the ability to watch and listen to it in fast forward. The story comes across to me like it was written by a high school student for a short story assignment. A very amateur story & dialogue. The story is a western only because it takes place in the late 1800's. The story could have been performed in any time period.

This is not a genre Western. It is written more like a myth, in the Jungian sense. The marshal's son is forbidden to be an artist, and his father rejects his son's visions, insisting that his son deny his visionary/intuitive side and look only at surface values. The father also insists that his son pattern himself in his father's image. Many complex issues are intertwined in this very short story. Each character plays a symbolic role in the struggle between life and death, good and evil, and the perceptions one determines are necessary to survive in this world. It is much more than a Hollywood Western. But, If you are expecting a Hollywood Western with all of the qualities of the westerns of past years, you could very well miss the importance of this production. The movie does carry the meaning that movies the 30's and 40's had for their time, however, with some tinges of Bergman, Hesse, Vonnegut, and Jim Jarmush flowing through it. The lighting and tinting were very conducive to the mood of the scenes as well.

With the likes of "Seraphim Falls" and the remake of "3:10 to Yuma", I had high hopes for this movie. DON'T EVER BOTHER!!! I don't know what most of the other people saw but they sure as heck was NOT watching this "junk'! Bad acting, actors and just about everything else. The location was ok and if you take away the actors you would have an awesome movie.
Great cover art, trailers and idea but the rest was just not good.
For all you die-hard western movie watchers, don't even bother watching this unless you have a high dose of great westerns to watch to help wash the stink off of you because this movie STINKS!!!!

This is my first review- I read Amazon reviews of nearly everything I watch but I've never written one myself... that should give you an idea of how strongly I feel about this movie sucking.

I'm writing this up immediately after watching, so I don't forget this completely forgettable movie. Here we go...

First off I am a pretty hardcore Western fan. I like all kinds. The classics. Black and Whites. From safe Wayne flicks to brutal Leone movies to comedies. I keep an open mind. There's nothing better than a great western and nothing as bad as a terrible one... this friends is the latter!

Lately there's been a onslaught of cheap Westerns that all have cool looking covers but are a complete mess otherwise. Seems I am on streak of renting everyone just hoping there's a winner in the bunch... no go so far.

Which brings us to Shiloh Falls. This is a great example. Basically unwatchable. Cheap looking digital camera work. Seemingly endless and pointless story. The idea of adding some super natural elements to a Western is great in theory (see Purgatory for example of it done well) but this is completely confusing and mind numbingly slow. The serious dialogue scenes are emotionless and poorly written and there's oh about 1,000 of them. One wonders where the funding comes for these? Seems like they exist simply to fill video store shelves.

To avoid sounding like a total grump, the actress in the saloon, Amber Jaeger, is a looker and seems to be actually talented and gives some life to her small role. Hopefully we see her work more. The soundtrack isn't half bad for a cheapo flick either.

But the fact the kid rips off the demon dude's weird necklace to kill him after he's been raising hell to kill everyone- hell that was done better in Kung Pow, Enter The Fist.

Perhaps the only time you're actually invested in the film is at the end when the lead character is asked... is it over? He answers... it's over. Luckily the film is too.

To sum it up... The evil demon collector in the film should come and collect this film so no one has to suffer through it again.

I hope John Wayne forgives me for watching this but I hope this review helps someone avoid the mistake I made in watching it. I intend to call out more of these new school oaters.

Lastly... you can see a white van in one of the early scenes when a horse passes it... a VAN! A friggin VAN! I wish it was the A TEAM and Mr. T would of busted out and laid down some pity.

Sorry Duke.

CHRIS JAY
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