Rent Frontier Crucible (2025)

Engrossing western marred by horror tropes - Frontier Crucible review by Alphaville

Just when you thought they didn’t make ‘em like this any more… For most of its length, this is a curiously low-key, slow-talkin’ western in terms of both dialogue and direction, yet it works. Filmed entirely in the great open spaces of Monument Valley against Mojave Desert rockscapes, the great vistas act as counterpoint and make this a film to wallow in.

The sparse plot has our slow-talkin’ hero and his party chased by vengeful Apaches. There are some great lines that, especially given the setting, you could imagine coming from John Wayne in a John Ford movie. A man’s gotta live with the choices he makes.

If you don’t like westerns, there’s nothing here for you. For the more discerning among us, Frontier Crucible reminds us that the western remains the genre for which the movie camera was invented.

So what goes wrong? Firstly, an old-fashioned singing-cowboy score, for goodness sake. It might have worked, except this one’s laughably dire and intrusive. Secondly, the climax is ruined by gratuitously gross torture scenes that belong only in a horror film. Overall, that makes the film a less than enjoyable viewing experience. Such a shame.