Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: In a Valley of Violence (2016)

10/22/2024

In a Valley of Violence (2016) - West defeated in the West

♥♥

The two stars, in traditional western getup, look about ready to shoot each other to death on this poster for Ti West's In a Valley of Violence

A soldier who has possibly deserted from the army, is on his way to Mexico and makes a stop in the small town Denton, where the local Marshall's braindead son bothers him to such a degree that he ends up staying there.

In a Valley of Violence is written, directed and edited by Ti West (The Roost (2005)).

West attempts a western in the beloved Sergio Leone style here, but the result is more of a dull-brained pastiche than a staggering homage. Ethan Hawke (Training Day (2001)) is miscast as the protagonist, who loses his dog and murders freely as revenge, not unlike the contemporary Keanu Reeves in the popular present day-set John Wick (2014). But where Reeves in that film seems a cool and justified avenger, Hawke at times here is risible, and generally a hard-to-justify postulate. Furthermore it is hard to grasp what makes the charming Taissa Farmiga (The Mule (2018)) fall for him here.

West adds brutality and blood, but that doesn't elevate the level for this poor western, which does have John Travolta's (Lucky Numbers (2000)) Marshall going for it. Best here is the score (by Jeff Grace (The Artist's Wife (2019))), Ennio Morricone inspired (of course) but with modern edges.

Related posts:

Ti West: V/H/S (2012) - Energetic, periodically intensely creepy if flawed found footage horror anthology (segment writer-director)

The House of the Devil (2009) - West's energetic, scary throwback period horror

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown, projected 10 mil. $

Box office: 61k $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.006 times its cost)

[In a Valley of Violence premiered 12 March (South by Southwest Film Festival) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place on film from June - July 2014 in New Mexico. The film opened #58 to a 29k $ first weekend in 33 theaters in North America, where it only played one more weekend, grossing 61k $. The film's only other release market (despite festival screenings) was Mexico, where the gross result went unreported. The-numbers.com asserts that the film additionally made 1.5 mil. $ on the domestic home video market. West returned with 8 TV-series prior to his theatrical return with X (2022). Hawke returned in The Phenom (2016); Travolta in American Crime Story (2016, TV-series) and theatrically in I Am Wrath (2016). In a Valley of Violence is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

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Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

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Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

10/22/2024

In a Valley of Violence (2016) - West defeated in the West

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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