I watched it and enjoyed it, but it was definitely low budget. The acting by the peripheral characters was very bad.
23 Reviews
Low budget, good story, bad acting
jklimek-415-96884921 December 2020
Bad Acting
yeliab-dlareg4 February 2020
Bad acting with stilted delivery. It was a cheaply made movie and it showed in the modern items trying to replace period pieces. They could have gotten replicas of those things but they chose to masquerade new stuff for old and it didn't work. The kid's blanket looked crocheted and cheap. There were too many goofs to cover. The story wasn't bad but the production was just too cheap. One can overlook just so many fake items before deciding to cut it off. I watched it on Amazon Prime and it is without a doubt the sorriest excuse for a Western I have ever seen and I watch old John Wayne movies from the 30s.
A Book That Wanted to Be a Movie
mrbigtime-3816614 December 2022
I absolutely love the premise, but that's about it. This is a potentially good story seemingly badly written if the movie is any indication. It feels like a book that was trying to be a movie and yet failed at both.
While I liked the multiple POV approach, there's too much "telling," which is saying a lot when you consider that, again, this is a movie, folks, not a book.
The acting is cringe worthy most of the time, though Paul Winters almost redeemed it right at the end.
I know this is a low-budget flick, but come on... some scenes are so badly executed they would be laughable were this a comedy. (Don't even get me started on the "wolf dog.")
But hey, I also loved the rugged landscape scenery. There.
I really wanted to like and praise this movie, but sadly, this is the best I could come up with. What a goddamn shame.
While I liked the multiple POV approach, there's too much "telling," which is saying a lot when you consider that, again, this is a movie, folks, not a book.
The acting is cringe worthy most of the time, though Paul Winters almost redeemed it right at the end.
I know this is a low-budget flick, but come on... some scenes are so badly executed they would be laughable were this a comedy. (Don't even get me started on the "wolf dog.")
But hey, I also loved the rugged landscape scenery. There.
I really wanted to like and praise this movie, but sadly, this is the best I could come up with. What a goddamn shame.
A Lame, Ultra-Low Budget Western
zardoz-1319 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
An old-time Hollywood producer once quantified the difference between big budget and low budget westerns. The number of horses drawing a stagecoach is always a dead giveaway. Big budget westerns boast six-horse teams, while low-budget sagebrushers make do with four-horse teams. Most television westerns prefer four-horse teams. A two-horse team hauls the stagecoach around in "Run for the High Country," an uninspired, saddle-sore saga about a veteran lawman on the trail of several murderous desperadoes. Presumably, this ultra-low budget western could only afford a two-horse team. B-movie actor Paul Winter not only wrote and directed this revisionist oater, but he also played the lead and edited it, too. Furthermore, in true auteur fashion, Winter co-produced it with Patty Daniels-Winters, and they haven't pinched pennies on most of their production values. The sets, wardrobe, vehicles, and the spectacular Arizona scenery are all exemplary. You won't see any of those idiotic rodeo Stetsons which are so jarring. Moreover, the firearms are entirely appropriate to the period. Everybody wields either .45 caliber Colt revolvers or .30-30 Winchester repeaters. Unfortunately, that two-horse stagecoach is the only big flaw. At the risk of belaboring the point, it just doesn't look right to have two horses pulling a stagecoach. Imagine what the silhouette on Wells Fargo Banks would look like if only two horses were dragging around that coach, and you'll appreciate my argument. If this were the only problem in "Run for the High Country," you could probably ignore it, but alas it isn't.
Colorado-based U.S. Marshal John Towne (Paul Winters of "Get Shorty") is forged from the same crucible as Marshal Matt Dillon in the long-running "Gunsmoke" television series. He is riding to Arizona to see a woman, when Chacon (Art Montano) and his quartet of outlaws ambush him after they have robbed a stagecoach and killed everybody on it. Billy O'Toole (Devin Flaherty) grazes Towne with a head shot. Rather than finishing off the wounded lawman, the outlaws amuse themselves. They disarm him, shackle his hands behind his back, while leaving him in the saddle with a noose stretched tight around his throat. Miraculously, Towne's horse doesn't spook. Nevertheless, this doesn't keep our hero from sweating out the rest of the day, the entire night, and part of the following day waiting for the inevitable. Eventually, a young Navajo boy, Binschii (Aden Yazzie), who has suffered his own share of hardships, comes across the lawman and cuts the rope. The youngster has been on the lam since Chacon murdered his father and grandfather in cold blood. Indeed, prejudice against Indians runs high in this oater, and Towne emerges as the only white who makes allowances for them. Ultimately, the marshal and the boy become close friends, and Towne grows fiercely protective of the pint-sized Navajo boy.
Ironically, Towne's gratitude toward Binschii for saving his life later puts him in jeopardy. After Towne escorts his young savior into a saloon for lunch, he finds himself at odds with the bigoted owner refuses to serve them. Naturally, Towne doesn't budge, and the local constabulary jails him before they realize who they have incarcerated. Towne entrusts the Navajo boy's welfare temporarily to a trading post owner and then rides out after Chacon. Meantime, Chaco and his gang have arranged to sell rifles to renegade Indians in exchange for gold. Towne stumbles onto Billy alone and questions him about Chacon's whereabouts. The weather-beaten marshal drowns the desperado without remorse in a stream because Billy raped and killed an innocent woman on the stagecoach that Chacon and his gang robbed. Indeed, Chacon has everybody on the stagecoach killed so that no witnesses can identify them. Theoretically, Towne believes all men are either good or evil with no shades of gray. Furthermore, he believes evil men can be thwarted, but that it can never be totally eliminated. Predictably, all the white settlers abhor the little Native American. Towne reacts with rage and incredulity at their attitude toward the helpless Navajo. Later, he administers the equivalent of a coup de grace to the villainous town sheriff after the latter assembles a posse to kill not only him but also the Navajo.
Although the production values lend this thrifty western an aura of authenticity, the performances and the widescreen cinematography can only be described as shoddy. First-time actors and actresses embarrass themselves. They utter their contrived lines of dialogue without any ring of conviction, and they sound like they are reading their dialogue from cue cards hidden off camera. Winter relies on voice-over narration so we can gain some insight into the various characters. Sadly, everybody mumbles to themselves, and it is difficult to keep them separate from the others. The U.S. Marshal shares his insights as well as those of the child. Mind you, "Run for the High Country" contains some interesting dialogue, but the delivery of those lines is undercut by the wooden acting. Winter is really no more confident in front of the camera than the rest of his cast. He looks far too old to be playing a rough and tough lawman. Worse, despite having helmed six low-budget films, such as "The Freeway Maniac" (1989) and "Cowboy Zombies" (2016), he has no idea how to develop atmosphere or generate suspense. The cinematography and the editing are each inferior, too. The gunfights are choreographed with neither flair nor fluidity. The finale where our lone hero confronts several horsemen charging with guns blazing lacks excitement. The best thing to do with "Run for the High Country" (obviously an homage on the title of Sam Peckinpah's classic western "Ride the High Country") is run from it.
Colorado-based U.S. Marshal John Towne (Paul Winters of "Get Shorty") is forged from the same crucible as Marshal Matt Dillon in the long-running "Gunsmoke" television series. He is riding to Arizona to see a woman, when Chacon (Art Montano) and his quartet of outlaws ambush him after they have robbed a stagecoach and killed everybody on it. Billy O'Toole (Devin Flaherty) grazes Towne with a head shot. Rather than finishing off the wounded lawman, the outlaws amuse themselves. They disarm him, shackle his hands behind his back, while leaving him in the saddle with a noose stretched tight around his throat. Miraculously, Towne's horse doesn't spook. Nevertheless, this doesn't keep our hero from sweating out the rest of the day, the entire night, and part of the following day waiting for the inevitable. Eventually, a young Navajo boy, Binschii (Aden Yazzie), who has suffered his own share of hardships, comes across the lawman and cuts the rope. The youngster has been on the lam since Chacon murdered his father and grandfather in cold blood. Indeed, prejudice against Indians runs high in this oater, and Towne emerges as the only white who makes allowances for them. Ultimately, the marshal and the boy become close friends, and Towne grows fiercely protective of the pint-sized Navajo boy.
Ironically, Towne's gratitude toward Binschii for saving his life later puts him in jeopardy. After Towne escorts his young savior into a saloon for lunch, he finds himself at odds with the bigoted owner refuses to serve them. Naturally, Towne doesn't budge, and the local constabulary jails him before they realize who they have incarcerated. Towne entrusts the Navajo boy's welfare temporarily to a trading post owner and then rides out after Chacon. Meantime, Chaco and his gang have arranged to sell rifles to renegade Indians in exchange for gold. Towne stumbles onto Billy alone and questions him about Chacon's whereabouts. The weather-beaten marshal drowns the desperado without remorse in a stream because Billy raped and killed an innocent woman on the stagecoach that Chacon and his gang robbed. Indeed, Chacon has everybody on the stagecoach killed so that no witnesses can identify them. Theoretically, Towne believes all men are either good or evil with no shades of gray. Furthermore, he believes evil men can be thwarted, but that it can never be totally eliminated. Predictably, all the white settlers abhor the little Native American. Towne reacts with rage and incredulity at their attitude toward the helpless Navajo. Later, he administers the equivalent of a coup de grace to the villainous town sheriff after the latter assembles a posse to kill not only him but also the Navajo.
Although the production values lend this thrifty western an aura of authenticity, the performances and the widescreen cinematography can only be described as shoddy. First-time actors and actresses embarrass themselves. They utter their contrived lines of dialogue without any ring of conviction, and they sound like they are reading their dialogue from cue cards hidden off camera. Winter relies on voice-over narration so we can gain some insight into the various characters. Sadly, everybody mumbles to themselves, and it is difficult to keep them separate from the others. The U.S. Marshal shares his insights as well as those of the child. Mind you, "Run for the High Country" contains some interesting dialogue, but the delivery of those lines is undercut by the wooden acting. Winter is really no more confident in front of the camera than the rest of his cast. He looks far too old to be playing a rough and tough lawman. Worse, despite having helmed six low-budget films, such as "The Freeway Maniac" (1989) and "Cowboy Zombies" (2016), he has no idea how to develop atmosphere or generate suspense. The cinematography and the editing are each inferior, too. The gunfights are choreographed with neither flair nor fluidity. The finale where our lone hero confronts several horsemen charging with guns blazing lacks excitement. The best thing to do with "Run for the High Country" (obviously an homage on the title of Sam Peckinpah's classic western "Ride the High Country") is run from it.
Hilarious.
zaethermind20 June 2019
I usually just rate movies, don't write reviews. In this case, I just felt necessary to add a few words. This "movie" was HILARIOUS. Only watch it if you are a calm and relaxed person who doesn't mind wasting time watching it.
There is a banana hair clip in one scene
superboomshack17 August 2022
I could spend an hour pointing out all the inaccuracies of this movie but when I saw the lady with the banana clip, I had to create an account and mention it. This is lazy and/or inept filmmaking and I am shocked someone would blow 750,000 making this garbage. I give it 1 star for the idea of the movie.
Well, I wanted it to be good...
KneelB4me3 January 2021
As others have said, this was poorly written, acted, and directed. The camera work for scenery was great, but for dialog and (especially) action scenes, was below par for even film school projects. The only reason I watched it all the way thru was because the overall story was good. As for the reviews above 5 stars, they MUST be from friends and family...
Awful
zathan-3284823 June 2019
Run Away from this Movie
djallendennis4 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Paul Winters can take credit for worst acting, directing, producing for this really, really bad western. Poor acting by unknowns, terrible camera work, costumes look like they just came out of a western store - even the weapons are not period accurate. Ha, in one scene, Paul is shot by an arrow - through a window no less - and in the next scene is bloody wound is gone - nice clean shirt.
I had to watch just because it was so bad I was laughing.
Don't watch this stinker.
psxexperten12 July 2019
All the cast and crews have written the 10 star reviews for this piece of trash.
Such a waste of time!
The Winters family should honestly try another career, they're movie making is a disaster.
The writing sucks, the acting sucks, the directing sucks.
Do you get the idea that this entire ting sucks?
Great Story and Great Film
evadh25 June 2019
Lemming crowd?
ronmcreynolds1 June 2022
Paul winters (the Director and Marshal) and Aden Azzie (the Indian boy) did an above average job of acting and directing the movie. The plot wasn't unprecedented but solidly done. The writing was simple, plain and straight forward. It's a tale of fiction so there is no comedy to falsify the immersion of getting into the characters. It's a well done low budget movie. I've been watching a few low budget movies lately. When you leave out zombies, super heroes, magic, fantasy, horror, romance and depend on story telling you don't need expensive CGI, over priced celebrities, Hollywood execs and corporate BS. You simple need a good tale. Therefore I liked this movie. Try it for yourself. If you think it's lackluster then odds are you're part of the lemming crowd brainwashed by Hollywood glitz. In that case just follow the lemmings in front of you over the inevitable cliff. That's an old game reference for you last two generations.
Some of the worst acting ever.
jimaquil19 June 2019
Reminded me of a high school play
vjpaolajr5 September 2020
Very sad
mbmarkman-963617 September 2020
I would be surprised if the budget for this movie was more than $1500.00. Horrendous dialogue, useless score, and poor acting at best. They maybe paid $200.00 for the story. More racism, and horrible treatment of Indians!!
I give it a minus 5.
Skip this movie
dlhestand-754296 November 2022
Way too many inaccuracies. Poor acting ( I've seen better in High school plays). One woman has her hair up in a banana clip. Clothing looks too modern. One scene a young man gets shot in the shoulder and keeps complaining he got my shoulder, it never bleeds. Some scenes it appears they saved money and used ketchup instead of fake blood. Some scenes have no dialog out of characters that in real life wouldn't be quiet in the situation they are in...The script seems poorly written. This movie has more narrative dialog than actual dialog... I am guessing all the 10 star reviews are from the cast of the movie.
Cheap and Lazy
lordzedd-311 April 2022
A US Marshall is wounded while tracking down murderous thieves. Because who needs a posse while in pursuit of 7 heavily armed sociopaths? When a elderly marshal with one six-shooter will do? Makes perfect sense to me, NOT! Also, the movie picks a character at random and haves them narrating things happening on the screen. Apparently that what passes as character building in this, just voice over exposition dumps. Now, "The Halloween Tree" had the same issue but I forgave it, because it was only the narrator, not every main character and it had actual acting, not dime store acting. I'm not the biggest fan of westerns, but this fails as a movie. It's cheap, it's lazy and all the gun shots are off camera, because blanks are expensive. No blood either, I guess corn syrup and red dye is also out of the budget. Weak cliché villains and story.
Actually a nice movie ... don't listen to the complainers
dda-4280815 July 2019
I'm giving it a 10 to boost the rating but that's not what I think really. I do think it doesn't deserve 1!
The plot was pretty good, the dialogue pretty shonky, the acting not that great but we can't all go to film or actors school. I was still drawn in to the story and the relationships
I liked it because it was different from the usual fare. And it had a pretty minimal budget so you're not going to see name actors. I say bravo for having a go and making a movie!
Wonderful movie
cowboy295722 June 2019
Great film
cowboy-7166422 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This film is wonderful to see a Native American Boy save the life of a cowboy and watch there relationship grow it has the shootem up people love in a western but a new side this relationship I loved it you will too!!!!
Awesome movie
rbuskirk-8961128 June 2019
Great western
threeasdf30 July 2019
Great movie!
ripmod16 January 2021
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