I deliberated for a while trying to decide on a rating for this movie. In the end, I decided on a 7/10. The reason for giving it the last couple of points is definitely some credible acting. The movie stars Dennis Quaid as a burnt-out homicide detective whose wife is dead. He's investigating a string of deaths which seems to be inspired by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelations. Quaid is estranged from his two sons because Quaid and the older son don't know how to cope with their grief. Lou Taylor Pucci does a good job as the older son.Quaid spends most of his time working instead of bonding with his children. Quaid's strength is in portraying his grief and his interactions with his son. He is not as effective at portraying a detective. The writers don't spend enough time showing Quaid actually doing the functions of his job to convince the audience. Ziyi Zhang is Quaid's prime suspect, and there are several interrogation scenes between the two of them. Zhang has the physical attributes to play a woman who uses her femininity to get men to do unspeakable things. Otherwise, her acting in not very convincing.Like other reviews of this movie have stated, "The Horsemen" shares several elements with other suspense movies which have handled these elements far more skillfully. Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs are two that come to mind. The movie doesn't fit together very well. Plot elements are introduced that are never fully developed. The connection between the people involved in the killings is not made clear. The effects in the movie are fine. Some interesting ideas and primarily credible acting earn "The Horsemen" an ambivalent 7 out of 10 points.

I actually found the Horsemen as a recommendation from watching "The Caller". It basically followed a distant father/ detective who heads up a serial investigation into murders that revolve around the four horsemen.Okay so I'll be honest I wanted to see this movie for two reasons, one it had a serial killer and two I like Dennis Quaid's work.That being said I'm not sure what Dennis read that made him want to do this particular film. Sure if you read the synopsis it seems like a great concept that could have some neat things done but I'm sure once he he read the script he had to realize this is well crap. They build this whole serial killing thing up to a point where your expecting something elaborate or grand that has meaning behind it. I'll put you out of your misery and tell you there is none. I'm not even sure why they chose the four horsemen as representation because there was really no connection. The acting was par nothing spectacular and the kills were pretty disturbing at first, but lose momentum quickly. There was also a twist they tried to throw in there that failed miserably. I maybe got a good 30 minutes into the movie and realized quickly where they were going with it and who they were going to say was the "white horsemen." The ending was...lacking I didn't feel connected to the characters or emotional for what was happening. Don't get me wrong I feel sorry about the situation but the emotional connection just wasn't there for me. Though of no fault of Dennis and Pucci who do their best. It also ended with something of question mark, I wasn't exactly sure of what happened to the guilty party. The only Ace in this movie to me was Ziyi Zhang who was pretty exceptional in her role as a troubled "youth", at least i THINK she was a youth. All in all if you feel like sitting back on a couch with your lover and just watching random movies for no reason other then something to do then go for it. 4/10.

Co-Produced by Michael Bay and starring Dennis Quaid in this dark, serial killer styled whodunit, you could be easily fooled into thinking this is the new "Se7en", especially after the trailer begs people to 'come and see'. The attention this film grabs in the first half is severely undone during the second thanks to a haphazard script that doesn't fully justify the plot. Add to that below average performances from top actors in supporting roles, corny dialogues, loose editing, and what you get is a wannabe horror-thriller that has all the potential to have been an astounding and thought provoking film.Once again, Dennis Quaid plays a workaholic yet hardened detective having presided over one too many gruesome crime scenes. In fact, the film opens to a CSI like crime scene where Quaid's Aidan Breslin is called to the site of what looks to be a bizarre and torturous murder. With just pieces of the victim staged in the direction of North, South, East and West, former forensics expert Breslin is quick to establish that this is not an ordinary murder, rather the work of fanatics delivering a vicious message in biblical fashion. His analysis takes a shocking turn when victims are found brutally murdered in a manner closely resembling prophesies from the Bible's chapter of Revelations. When the killer literally confesses to the murders, Breslin learns that three other accomplices are at large, arriving at a deduction that this is the modus operandi of four disturbed individuals posing as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Resulting in a cat and mouse chase with a major plot twist, Breslin and his family are directly linked to the motive behind these killings including potential for a million more deaths.Besides the loosely bound script, the main problem is the cliché of having to endure another torture-porn flick hot on the heels of self righteous proclaiming others like "Saw" and "Untraceable". As always, with these types of thrillers the message is loud and clear. Here in particular is about parents getting too involved with work while neglecting even twenty Dollars worth of quality time with the family. And as the film goes, the consequences of this can be ever so dire. Unfortunately, the vehicle delivering this message looses steam even before it can pick up momentum. In the end, what could have been something intense along the lines of "Primal Fear", gets utterly wasted on the side lines for no apparent reason other than lack of depth. The cause could be that Jonas Ákerlund has a history in directing MTV and concert videos. Ultimately, the question is how well does a music video director cross over into full length films starting straight away in the thriller genre? If you really want to know, watch the film. Apart from directing, acting takes a beating as well with Quaid being the sole person with any enthusiasm. Central to the plot is Ziyi Zhang as the adopted daughter of a murder victim along with Lou Taylor Pucci playing Breslin's eldest son. Yet both these talented actors somehow only manage half-hearted performances in what should be pivotal supporting roles. Besides that, Zhang has undermined herself by choosing a role that gets her no more than fifteen minutes of screen time, a startling contrast to her claim to fame from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to "Memoirs of a Geisha".Set in Detroit's Northern state of Michigan, the only cool aspects of the film lies in snowy cinematography providing some simulated relief from the sweltering heat outside. But then again, snow is fast becoming another clichéd prop when it comes to chilling metaphors in psychological thrillers, especially after the effect it had in "Misery".

I loved the idea of Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and I thought the film looked decent with atmospheric lighting and camera angles. However, despite the great premise Horsemen of the Apocalypse never lives up to it.The acting is unfortunately not very good, Dennis Quaid I do like and I thought he was ideal for the role, but he doesn't have much to work with and sadly with a disconnected performance he lets that fact show. It doesn't help with the characterisation either though, it is woefully underdeveloped quite often.I wish there wasn't more but there is. The story had a great idea no doubt, however it is in structure disjointed and the sluggish pace and derivative direction further hamper it. What really sinks the film down is the script, which is really inane and cliché-ridden to the point it is barely bearable to listen to.All in all, there was a good movie somewhere but this was a perfect example of a film that never lived up to the promise it had. 3/10 Bethany Cox