Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2009) starring Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci, Clifton Collins Jr. directed by Jonas Åkerlund Movie Review

Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2009)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Dennis Quaid in Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2009)

Quaid Deals with Revelations

Detective Aidan Breslin (Dennis Quaid) has thrown himself into his work ever since the death of his wife and it has left him estranged from his sons who barely communicate with each other. But Breslin finds himself drawn in to a complex serial killer case involving a group of sick killers who murder their victims in the most unsettling of ways whilst leaving clues which reference the bible and the horsemen of the apocalypse.

I am as guilty as anyone but I do laugh when I read a review which basically moans about a movie for being derivative and then mentions various movies because not everyone has seen the same movies and someone watching a movie at a young age won't know that it is derivative. I mention that purely because almost every review I saw for "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" mentioned both "Saw" and "Seven" and whilst it is derivative of those and other movies not everyone will have seen them. So for those who haven't what we have in "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is a series of frequently used elements: a widowed cop whose devotion of work causes issues with his children, sick serial killers who have a gruesome way of murdering and a biblical connection hinted at by the title.

Barry Shabaka Henley in Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2009)

The thing about "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is that it both hits and misses the mark all the time. What I mean is that when ever Breslin is called in to a crime scene the gruesome immediately hits you especially when time and again we see the victims suspended via hooks through their skin. But unfortunately once the gruesomeness wears off it lacks the follow up punch to keep it entertaining and you on the edge of your seat. It is a shame as there are some good scenes, the opening scene involving a dining cloche over a table placed on a frozen pond is intriguing and when we get the pay off a few scenes later it is worthwhile.

In the end when the gruesome aspects of the "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" wears off the movie owes a lot of thanks to Dennis Quaid who delivers a solid performance of a text book character; come on how many movies have you watched involving a bitter widower throwing himself into his work. In truth it isn't a memorable character but Quaid makes him real and he is thankfully surrounded by some familiar faces such as Barry Shabaka Henley, Paul Dooley and Chelcie Ross.

What this all boils down to is that "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is in truth a derivative movie and one which has its problems, none more so than it fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. But despite that it is entertaining with a good performance from Dennis Quaid and enough gruesome to work without becoming gore porn.


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