User reviews

What is happening to Dennis Quaid? Seriously now, he is playing the role of the distant father more and more and he plays in worse and worse movies. I like the guy! Cast him in something decent!

As for the movie, it kind of sucked. I mean, the mythos behind the killings was shabby, the police-work ridiculous and, worst of all, I could not relate to ANY of the characters except Dennis Quaid's one... part of the time. And the casting just reveals too much.

Bottom line: if you take Seven, you make it a lot less gruesome, you add cardboard policemen and even cardboard villains, you dumb it down considerably, then you get The Horsemen. Gave it a 6 only for Zhang's efforts on speaking English.

Tell me that the movie is like Se7en and I am interested. Tell me that Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha, House of Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2046) is in it, and I am interested. Tell me that Dennis Quaid, the actor starring in one of my favorite films, The Big Easy, is starring this one, and I am definitely interested.

A combination like that should mean that I am in for a treat of some kind.

Barry Shabaka Henley is always a welcome addition, and he was no disappointment here.

However, the rest of the film was a big disappointment. It was devoid of any real emotion, and the struggle with the kids just distracted from the quest for the killers. It never came close to Se7en.

Dennis Quaid is excellent as worn-out, recently widowed detective Aidan Breslin. In fact, no-on in the cast puts in less than a terrific performance, especially Ziyi Zhang as Kristin and Breslin's two overlooked children who occasionally threaten to derail the plot (or do they?).

This is a dark, emotionally raw horror chiller, beautifully directed by Jonas Åkerlund. It seems to be building to something apocalyptic, or at least, something more impressive than the overtly saccharine ending we get.

It's a shame the story ends in so anti-climactic a fashion, the journey up to that point is an inventive and interesting one that inspires lots of suspicions about various characters and their motives. A lot of this comes to nothing. My score is 6 out of 10.

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.

This film was something I had high expectations for during the initial half an hour, it had all the requirements of a good movie-good setting-good actors-good originality somehow... At the end of the film (it has a surprise ending) I found myself annoyed with it, like in lieu of creating what I think would be a believable ending, they hired another director to complete it or something, and that person just took the shortest route to achieve exit speed, leaving the film finished but not finished right. I found the ending ridiculous in fact, as in junk, unworthy of the build up of the rest of the film. Maybe just avoid it, go to the bathroom for a few hours or maybe rearrange a bunch of old clothes. That probably would be time better spent.

The Horsemen touts itself as another serial killer cat and mouse and admirably attempts to mix in several sub-genres including torture, exotic piercing, plot twists, and even a silence of the lambs (more Primal Fear in execution) style prison exchange. What transpires is unfortunately a lot of set pieces that don't add a lot to the whole. Dennis Quaid has always been fun to watch and has had several noteworthy performances (my fav will always be Savior). Here he struggles to play a hardened detective reminiscent of Al Pacino in Insomnia, his lines are forced, he is simply a poor casting choice for this role. He never reaches believability as the detective, and the dramatic subterfuge of a single dad with 2 kids is laid on so thick, he never sloshes out of the muck long enough to fill either role. The plot is OK, fairly standard shake on a playful serial killer vs cop movie, but the dialog is simply horrible. The lines are terribly cliché' and the actors, while capable, are just waiting for there time to speak, never fully absorbed into the movie. This will likely go to video soon where it may attract an easy to please crowd but ultimately does not hold a candle to any of the movies it copied.

Maddis

I don't know about you, but when I sit down to watch a horror film, I don't expect to be blown away. My expectation is only to be engaged, kept in suspense, and hopefully scared out of my mind (this last one being of the rarest variety).

This movie lived up to my expectations in all the important ways. My curiosity was jump started in the first scene, and the somber, introspective mood of the story line, spiked with horrific scenarios and sickening plot twists, was exactly what I hoped.

The final twist was too easily guessed, of course, but it didn't take away from the finale - a powerfully emotional scene portrayed very convincingly by Dennis Quaid, who brought his usual energy and charisma to the role.

If you're looking for a quality horror flick or suspense thriller, this one is well worth your while!

This is the plot. A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) is the detective who has to find out who the four horsemen are before apocalypse sets in. And he has to stop them before the four sacrifices are made. His first clue comes when the mother of three children is brutally murdered. The adopted daughter Kristin, played excellently by Ziyi Zhang provides a major evidence to Aidan. The killings are very brutal & its very gut-wrenching if the Saw-type films gets you scared. The talk in the prison cell is very disturbing. Aidan's son Alex is pretty good in convincing us that he has a very strained relationship with his father & he is a very good caretaker of his brother. The references to the Bible is also creepy, because some young adults can be easily brainwashed into thinking what the kids in the movie thought. Ultimately this cop vs killer movie tries to go beyond its genre & succeeds somewhat to an extent.

Try to catch this movie on rental at the end of the night & it just might give you the chills. Don't expect anything from this & you'll enjoy it.

6/10

This movie was great. The plot is interesting and original, and it has a message. But most importantly, everything has a purpose. The mood is right. There is gore, but just enough to convey the perversion of the killer. The dialogs are not brilliant, neither the detectives, but that makes everything seem more realistic. In addition, the photography is really good; there are a few very good, artsy shots. I feel all the criticism this movie received actually was for not being an exact copy of some other film. If you want senseless gore, go see Saw XIX. If you want a serial killer story, wait for the next episode of Criminal Minds. But if you’d like to see an engaging, well made film, Horsemen is more than fine.

This frightening and suspenseful thriller concerns about an unsettling and bitter cop emotionally affected for the death of his devoted wife by cancer , being trapped into a dark and tenebrous environment . It's a stirring and moving story full of twists and turns ; however being pretty claustrophobic . This exciting picture contains thrills, chills, plot twists, action-filled and lots of gore and guts . The movie centers on a Detective named Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) , an expert on forensic Odontology , as his chief (Chelcie Ross) assigns him to investigate a weird chain of murders that bear a rare marks on trees and surrounding. The ominous killings have a rare phrases as ¨ We are nothing ¨ from Exodus 1,5 and ¨Come and see¨ , as he finds out it proceeds from Book of Revelation of the apostle Saint Joan . Meanwhile , Aidan holds a problematic relationship to his oldest son named Alex ( Lou Taylor Pucci) . Investigating a series of murders of strange violence, he discovers a horrifying link between himself , his dark secrets and the suspects that seem to be based on the Biblical prophecies dealing with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death ; resulting to be the leader a horseman riding a white horse. Breslin is helped by a tough inspector ( Henry Collins Jr) and a forensic expert ( Barry Shabaka).

In the picture there are psychological issues , plot twists, emotion, mystery , spooky sets and a little bit of gore. The movie turns out to be a crossover between the religious intrigue from ¨Crimson rivers : Angel of Apocalypse ¨ , the suspension tortures from ¨The cell¨, investigations means of ¨CSI¨, and ¨Seven¨ thriller. From the beginning of the film until the end the suspense and intrigue is unstopped . The creepy images of wide range from the genuinely eerie to the bizarre along with scary and amazing frames . It's predictable but also its predictability is redeemed for some extraordinary surprises and in part by the charismatic acting from the main protagonists . Acceptable performance by Dennis Quaid as unlucky Inspector who distances from his two sons and good support cast formed by Ziyi Zhang, Patrick Fugit , Peter Stormare , Eric Balfour and Paul Dooley , among others . Thrilling musical score fitting to action and tension by Jan Kaczmarek who formerly won an Academy Award for ¨Finding Neverland ¨. The flick is middlingly directed by Jonas Akerlund , a Videoclip-maker in his first and only picture. The movie obtained a bit of success but failed at the box office. Rating : 5,5 . The motion picture will appeal to religious thriller buffs and dark atmosphere enthusiasts.

I'll certainly say one thing for this movie...I'm surprised it hasn't received any sort of real theater time (to my knowledge). You'd think that Dennis Quaid's name alone could carry at least a decent box office take. But no matter...that's not really the point of a review now is it? Horsemen represents a fairly decent shot in the arm for the often tired and overdone thriller genre. It's hard to explain exactly why without giving away too much about the movie, but it takes a different angle that keeps it somewhat (but not entirely) exciting. I mean sure, some of the horribly tired themes are there like Quaid playing the cop whose lost his wife and is a serious contender for worst father of the year. He drinks, he ignores his kids, and he ditches them any time work calls him on his cell. As annoying and trite as it seems, it's kind of essential to the story so I guess you have to let it go. Ziyi Zhang does a good job as the antagonist toying with Quaid throughout most of the film, but it's not quite on par with some of her Chinese language offerings. And Peter Stormare...his name is listed in the opening credits, but he's literally in the movie for all of 2 scenes and a total of 3 minutes or so. Why even bother? You could hire any poor schmuck off the street and it would've worked just as well.

All in all the film represents a kind of offering that is better than expected even if you do see the ending from a mile off. It's also a bit of redemption for Michael Bay as far as I'm concerned (assuming it's the same Michael Bay that did Transformers, Pearl Harbor, The 2009 version of Friday The 13th, etc.). Unlike 99% of his projects, there isn't a single computerized special effect in this film. Well...at least one that's noticeable. Definitely worth the watch if you're up for this sort of thing. Then again, if you're not up for this sort of thing, why the hell are you looking it up on IMDb?

In a cold Washington, the widower Detective Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) is assigned to investigate a case based on his forensic expertise in teeth. Sooner he finds a series of dreadful murders with the victims in suspension rigs based on the Biblical Revelation 6 – Come and See – and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Famine, Pestilence, Death and War with the involvement of abused teenagers. Meanwhile Aidan never has time to spend with his two sons that are still grieving the loss of their mother.

"Horsemen" has a promising beginning in the style of "Se7en". However, the unpleasant and predictable story is quite pointless and has a disappointing and lame conclusion. Dennis Quaid is too old to have young sons and Ziyi Zhang is too old to perform the role of a young woman; therefore, both are miscast. Further, with so many maladjusted teenagers in the world, the insane idea of this movie might be quite dangerous for disturbed youths. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Os Cavaleiros do Apocalipse" ("The Horsemen of the Apocalypse")

What brought me into this picture: Dennis Quaid.

What impressed me: the message.

What surprised me: Paul Dooley.

Who scored big: Pucci.

What bothered everyone: we could all guess the ending, sort of.

I have to say this, and I haven't seen every movie Dennis has made, but I keep hoping to see Dennis back in his "crazy as sh*t" jockey movies like The Right Stuff, and Inner Space. That was too long ago but I'm addicted to that and keep looking for it.

It completely fascinates me that there is this much discussion being blogged on this picture. Apparently, a lot of horror freaks were disappointed at the level of action/gore that wasn't. This really isn't scary, this is an "emo" movie -- but that's not a bad thing. I think it addresses a real issue. Sorry it freaked some of the more queasy among you. Yes, the story is unrealistic -- it couldn't have happened -- but let's be honest, okay, very little that we see on screen can and you didn't pay for reality you paid for something different.

One or two, I didn't read past the 3rd page of reviews, complained of "Christian message". Yeah, the movie-makers were very good at keeping true to the words of the bible and Paul Dooley did a very passable priest. Don't know why I don't give that actor more credit than I do, must be previous movies like Strange Brew.. I DO like how centered Dooley was in his role. I could see where Pucci's character could be focused on that message, and I liked how the priest could drive the nail in about love. This is a movie about love and priorities.. it's a movies for parents, not children, and not single people who are not thinking about being parents. I'm surprised no one by the end of the 3rd page of reviews got that: it's obvious the movie-makers did. And since comparisons with Se7en have been made, the latter being slightly more believable, the premise of that movie was crap. Religious nuts aren't that sophisticated. No, this is not a religious movie. Just a movie with a significant message.

The funny thing, to me (talking about movie-making), was that the first body was real but still managed to look like a mannequin (but, then, pictures of shark attack victims rarely look real to me). One reviewer thought it was fake. The movie was shot twice and still wasn't perfect like, say, Deliverance was. I can't put my finger on it, the movie possibly would have been more visceral on the big screen and with the presence of a large audience around the viewer.

Peter Stormare's character could have been developed more, including interaction with Zhang's character. I really don't understand why the outtakes were taken out. But, other than that, I can't say that there was not enough character development -- I do suspect, however, that a grumpy Dennis Quaid (and there are too many movies like this) tromping endlessly around does have somewhat of a nullifying effect. Needs more light, says this cook.

Storyline started out strong and then it turned into a hot mess rather quickly. Things suddenly stopped making sense and every new detail turned into a lose end that just raised more unanswered questions.

The acting was lopsided at best. Who exactly are these characters? Some of them were just filling space and didn't further the plot.

The good news is that the plot wasn't boring at all, it was just totally illogical and incomplete. And then it ended. It just stopped without explanation or resolution like they ran out of money to write an actual ending. It literally just stops at one point and the credits appear.

This movie is a small disaster, full of unrealized potential and scenes that make zero sense.