- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Package Dimensions : 6.74 x 5.35 x 0.44 inches; 2.4 Ounces
- Director : Brian Presley
- Media Format : Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 35 minutes
- Release date : June 14, 2022
- Actors : Brian Presley, Craig Tate, Natalie Whittle, Matt McCoy, Brad Leland
- Studio : Well Go Usa
- ASIN : B09X7DHTTT
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
Hostile Territory is a strange film,
combining the type of saccharine sensibility often seen in faith-based films
with violence expected from the western genre. If the filmmaking weren’t so
clumsy, it may have worked. Instead, this is a film of good intentions and
awful execution.
Set just after
the end of the Civil War, prisoner of war Jack Calgrove (Brian Presley) is released
and discovers his family is in peril. When false news of his death arrived home,
Calgrove’s wife passed from grief, leaving the children thinking they have been
orphaned. The younger children are sent by train to be with their eldest
brother, Phil (Cooper North), though they unwisely head into hostile territory
together. Calgrove races across the rough terrain to make it to his family in
time to save them.
The premise of
the film isn’t terrible, but the execution is lacking across the board. The story
itself is designed to include a series of unbelievable coincidences, all so
that the film has peak melodrama throughout. The contrivances of the plot are
only heightened by the painfully bad dialogue stiffly delivered by actors
better suited for student films. This may sound harsh, but Hostile Territory
was painful to sit through. Part of the problem could be that this is clearly a
vanity project for star Brian Presley, who is also the screenwriter, producer,
and director.
The bonus features
on the Blu-ray include a behind-the-scenes featurette and trailer. The high-definition
presentation of the film only reveals the shortcomings in filmmaking.
Entertainment Value:
2/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 1.5/10
Historical
Significance: 0/10
Special Features: 2/10
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