Desierto tells the tale of a pack of immigrants besieged by a frustrated patriot who is picking them off one by one as they attempt to cross the border. Part social commentary & part thriller, Desierto isn't completely successful on both counts. The villain is thinly drawn to the point if he had a mustache, he'd twirl it & the entering Mexicans are saintly & well meaning also suffer from the same lack of characterization so we're left w/a sense of a story told but not very well.

Another human hunting film. It is Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) vs. illegals. If the desert and snakes don't kill you, Sam and his dog will. Sam calls in the crossing, but nothing is done so he takes matters into his own hands. Sam drinks a cloudy form of Jack Daniels, most likely ice tea. Like all human hunting films, the hunted takes it back to the hunter...yawn. Formula and shallow film. Of course it takes a real man to hunt unarmed people with a high powered rifle from 1,000 + yards. Made me pity the immigrants instead of creating a meaningful discussion of the issue.Guide: No sex or nudity.

If you keep yourself distanced from others, you do not recognize those others as human beings. As fellow persons, who deserve your respect. This was done and thought of way before someone claimed he wanted to build a wall, that would solve the "problem" at hand here. Politics aside for a moment if possible, this is a journey for people who seek a better future for themselves.Of course some would say and argue they don't deserve that and we'd be right back to square one. So while I said politics aside, it's almost impossible to watch this and not having an opinion on it. Whether you think the people crossing the border are doing the right thing or the guy not letting them off the hook so easy is the one who's right, do not forget: We're talking human beings here. And while this is a fictional movie, there is some real life based idea behind this. Which makes it somewhat hard to watch if you think too much about it.But as a movie it works. The characters are believable enough and the suspension is high as it should be ...

Even if viewers aren't familiar with the short story or movie "The Most Dangerous Game" - both of which started this basic plot - it's without doubt that they will have watched this basic plot many times before this particular rehash. So how does it compare to other tellings? Well, I admit that I wasn't bored at any time, and there are some parts of the movie that do have some tension and excitement. But at the same time, I got the feeling that the filmmakers weren't going all out to deliver some serious punch. The first twenty minutes or so are kind of soft in tone, and even when the bullets start to fly and people start to be pursued, some edge seems to be missing a lot of the time.A bigger problem is when it comes to character development. We don't really learn a thing about the antagonist apart from the fact that he loves his dog. We never learn why he's turned into a killer vigilante. When it comes to the main protagonist, we don't learn that much more. He has one (somewhat brief) monologue where he shares some of his background to another character... and that's it.As I said, I wasn't BORED with this particular retelling, and it's fairly well made for what was a low budget. But in the end, it's only an average take on this old formula. Better than some, yes. But there are also a lot better rehashes out there.