While hunting in the woods one day, an alcoholic poacher picks the wrong target and precipitates a series of events that threatens to destroy his life and the financial security of the married woman with whom he is having an illicit affair. Set in the filthy backwaters of West Virginia, this grim story of love and revenge is a fine example of the popular and well established Redneck Noir genre.I rate A Single Shot at 23.31 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a gritty 7/10 on IMDB

Many reviewers are complaining about this movie being "slow" because of the plot. What makes this movie slow is the pacing and uneven structure. The plot itself fine and actually pretty interesting - a hunter accidentally kills someone in the woods and decides not to tell anyone about it. He finds a stash of money with the body and uses it to better his Son. That's a good story. Unfortunately, it's the poor direction, editing and writing of this movie that really destroy what is a pretty good premise. Honestly (the more I think about it), with the exception of an interesting story (at least at the beginning) and a great performance by Rockwell, this film is a complete mess. There are numerous scenes that don't fit or just don't make sense. Though Rockwell is fantastic, many of his character's actions are completely idiotic. I blame a poor script filled with convenient characters that serve as nothing more than stereotypical plot devises. Neo-noir films can break rules and be implausible, but that's because they usually have a pacing that builds to a great climax, making you forgot about all the plot holes and illogical characters. Rockwell's character is the only person in the movie with any depth. Which is a testament to Rockwell, because the writer does not do anything to help us relate to this guy. I guess, to a degree, that might be the point - this unlucky chap could be any of us. But at a certain point I wanted more focus on the psychological weight of his murder, a Tell Tale Heart kind of thing, and less No Country For Old Men 2. I didn't hate this movie. It does create a nice atmosphere, but there's too much wrong with it to really enjoy it for more than 10 minutes at a time at any point. Thank goodness for Rockwell, or it would have been completely unwatchable. Check out Cold In July or Blue Ruin - those films show you how to do neo-noir thrillers right.

Review: It's amazing how an honest mistake can spiral out of control when you try and take matters into your own hands. That is definitely the case in this movie. When Sam Rockwell mistakingly kills a young girl whilst hunting deer in the woods, he decides to take matters into his own hands and ends up finding loads of cash were she is staying. From there, the whole story spirals out of control and the jobless recluse becomes hunted down by various criminals who want there money back. The storyline was well put together and the director really did think every aspect through. The obvious thing to do, if you shoot someone by mistake, is to go to the police straight away, but when you have some many things stacked up against you, like Sam Rockwell character, you tend to panic and do the first thing that comes to mind, even if you live to regret it. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie and I never lost interest because I wanted to see were the director was going to take the storyline. The acting was great, especially from Jeffrey Wright and the showdown at the end was well thought through. Enjoyable!Round-Up: Sam Rockwell is another one of those actors that gives his all, no matter what the budget or the size of the movie. After starring in big budget movies like Iron Man 2 and the Green Mile, and small movies like Moon and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, he has become a bankable star but he doesn't let his fame go to his head. As for the other actors in the movie, they all put in believable performances but the film isn't one that you can watch time and time again. The pace was pretty slow which brings tension to the whole film but it does drag in parts. On the whole it's a watchable movie which is very well written but could have been shorter.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $20,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who are into there intense drama/thriller movies about a hunter who kills a young woman by mistake and finds himself hunted by criminals. 5/10

This is an exquisitely dark, rural, all-American series noir. Plot line and moral being: a good man goes bad, because that's the way things can be, the way things are. Nature -- human or otherwise, isn't kind. Mistakes happen. And you often pay for them in the wilderness of this world we live in alone and altogether. Chance has its way of crushing you, burying you alive. Watch out. Plus, aside from a potent story line, the acting is downright first rate. Not a single one of the actors are off key. I don't know who did the casting for "A Single Shot", but they deserve an award for it. Also exquisite in this film is the ending -- one of the most original examples of "open ended" I've ever seen in a film. You've got to be in a dark, worried mood to like this film; its darkness is relentless. "A Single Shot" is not for everyone; in no way is it "G" or "GP". But for thoughtful adults it is very well worth the watching.