The Wilderness Road

2021

Action / Drama / History / Western

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 80%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 80%
IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 97 97

Plot summary

The story of the most notorious land pirates who stalked the Southeast during the turn of the 19th century. Samuel Mason, a Revolutionary War hero, turns to a life of crime. Meanwhile, Big Harpe and Little Harpe, America’s first serial killers, wreak havoc through the region. Soon, these three outlaws will meet along the wilderness road.

Director

Travis Mills Photo
Travis Mills

Top cast

William E. Harris Photo
William E. Harris as Captain Vasquez
Holly Bonney Photo
Holly Bonney as Prostitute
Creek Wilson Photo
Creek Wilson as Samuel Mason
Lamar Lott Photo
Lamar Lott as James Brassel
720p.WEB
1.11 GB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 13

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by cwjohnsonjr 9 / 10

The Best of the 12 Westerns In 12 Months So Far

This portrayal of the untold story of the Harpes and Samuel Mason is well worth your time, and the price. The cinematography is stunning and beautiful. Some of it looks like a painting. One scene around the campfire on the banks of the river looks like it was painted by Homer Winslow. Overall the acting is great, although the performances of a few day players were lacking. Jeff Buchwald as Preacher Eli, Creek Wilson as Samuel Mason and John Marrs as Captain Ballenger were particular good. The costumes were magnificent and it is obvious that the production spared no expense in finding the most historically accurate material, designs and fabric as possible. I especially liked the uniforms of the Spanish soldiers. You can tell that everyone involved in the project were passionate about the subject matter.I did have one problem with the writing. While the story does start off introducing us to Mason, we don't see him again for nearly an hour and then most of his back story is given in an exposition dump. Most of the story has been focused on the Harpes up until then. Then we don't see them again for about thirty minutes while we see Mason go down the path of crime until he meets Little Harpe. It makes the film slow down and drag. I would have preferred that in the first hour that the film had intertwined the stories of Mason and the Harpes as he tries to avoid being associated with them and then the second act ending with them ganging up together. However the filmmakers were trying to give an historically accurate timeline in the chronicling of the events. I respect that and won't take a star off.Again, I highly recommend you checkout this indie gem out. Many reviewers will unfortunately focus on the lacking elements common to low budget filmmaking and therefore give The Wilderness Road a negative review. Please ignore them. The film industry is one of the few businesses in which quality of product matters less than quantity of money brought in by the product. Many talented filmmakers have seen their dreams dashed when their well made product failed to make anything financially. People are always complaining about how Hollywood isn't making anything new or original. The Wilderness Road is the first Western that features the history of the Natchez Trace, a road that has as much importance in American history as the Oregon and Santa Fe Trail. It is also the first that historically portrays the folklore and frontier legends of Samuel Mason and the Harpes. The only other time they were featured in cinema was Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. While that was a fun romp, The Wilderness Road treats these early American serial killers with the seriousness and respect that the subject matter requires. Hollywood has far too often ignored the frontier lore, settlement and wild west atmosphere east of the Mississippi in early American history (1780-1830ish). You can help send a message to the film industry that we want more original content based on forgotten American history by supporting The Wilderness Road.
Reviewed by jarrettconnor 7 / 10

A good historical western film

I'm a big fan of westerns and I wasn't disappointed in this film. Sure it feels weird because we are used to high budget westerns, but I really liked the story, the plots and plot twists, and the characters are really the strong part about this film. The actors are amazing and they make me feel that I'm apart of the whole journey. Trust me if you need a good western, you will not be disappointed in this. It's probably the best out of all the 12 westerns in 12 months.
Reviewed by phillawrence-32142 1 / 10

Not even a B movie

One of the worst acted and produced films I have ever seen. The acting is the worst I have ever witnessed, I don't know where all these good reviews have come from, they're not being honest. It's obviously very low budget, which is forgivable if the writing is good, but the dialogue is just awful, as well as the acting. It also doesn't make any sense half the time. It's pretty farcical at times and just has no immersion value whatsoever. You just can't believe any of it. The music is too loud for the dialogue, the camera work is sloppy and the fact these criminals arent strung up immediately is just ridiculous along with how they're captured, which didn't fit the dialogue in the previous scene. It didn't make sense. Avoid.
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