Andreas Prochaska's The Dark Valley is a dark, grimly paced Euro-western that could have been a great one if only the script was as tight and polished as it's musical and stylistic elements. Shot in the Italian mountains, it looks absolutely alluring in every single frame, blessed with a stoic tough-guy performance from Sam Riley as a mysterious stranger bent on revenge and a soundtrack full of odd, against-the-grain yet distinct choices. It looks, sounds and feels evocative, but the story that should go alongside and string it all together is just too loosely woven, and as such, interest is lost. Riley's stranger is not really welcome in the alpine town, especially by the Brenners, a local crime family that rule the roost. It's a harsh winter, and pretty soon bodies start piling up, victims of an unseen assailant the townspeople just assume is the Stranger. There's a backstory to the whole thing, some great atrocity committed by these folk decades earlier, and while all the information was presented, in both exposition and flashback, it just didn't have the emotional payoff or clear-cut grandiosity that a western like this should, especially one as dramatic in every other area. The dubbing over of the German actors doesn't help one bit either, a choice which I will never, ever support. Subtitles all the way, man. Anyways, Riley is as awesome as ever, it's really sad that he doesn't make more films, he's got a dark star quality that immediately classes up any film he shows up in. The cinematography is top shelf, with a stunning backdrop of mountains all round, detailed period-appropriate production design and costume work. Music is a strong point, with a neat opening credit rendition of Nina Simone's Sinner Man, and there's a climactic gunfight that leaps off the screen in bold strokes. It's just a little less than it should be in areas where the stakes needed to be way higher and draw us into the story, so that when the operatic violence comes, it has heft beyond just looking cool and leaving us nothing to invest our care in. Good stuff, if incomplete.

Despite the plot is simple, already seen in different forms, and it slowly unwinds, this movie is beautiful and never boring. It is a deliberately dark film, violent and angry, with excellent scenery and sets, good photography, well-chosen and credible actors. Everything is really well done and gripping. Costumes, sets, editing are top level.I could think of it that some modern music tracks, although very very pleasant as well, and although them bond with the scenes, they don't fit perfectly with that age. Maybe a classic instrumental style music, would fit better. Apart this, all it is perfectly crafted. A quality movie in every aspect.I found it a very engaging western. Recommended.9/10

This is the first Austrian western I have viewed, and what an introduction to this director! I am a long-time aficionado of great westerns and this ranks right up at the top of the genre alongside such classics as Unforgiven and High Plains Drifter.The production values are extremely high with particularly good attention to costume and set/scene realism - with my only (tiny) criticism being the lack of an appropriately grimy, dirty finish to much of the costuming. Unlike many reviewers I found the score throughout the movie to be superb and the introductory and closing songs to be appropriate and perfectly matched for the film's atmosphere. The setting in the European Alps was something I raised an eyebrow at before watching but not only does it provide for some of the most breathtaking scenic placements for the camera work, everything slots nicely into place with perfectly sensible logic and reason.This is a superbly-paced, brooding and somewhat dark story; an atmosphere which is perfectly echoed in the stunning lighting and cinematography. The acting was top-notch with no Hollywood-style prettiness, the whole cast looked sufficiently careworn, weather-beaten and real, just as if they were plucked in mid-winter from a genuine alpine village to play themselves. The dialogue is beautifully minimalist with no wasted lines, it is so pleasing to see that it hasn't been scripted it for a mass-market audience that needs to have every single facet of the story explained to them, viewers actually need only to engage their eyes and brain at the same time (Yes, I know some will find that difficult.) Despite the fact that the story is a pretty standard and predictable western genre staple - mysterious stranger appears in isolated community to exact revenge for misdeeds in the past - I loved this movie from start to finish and have not a single bad thing to say about it. I think this great film will appeal to not only all genuine western fans but also any lovers of fine cinema as an art-form.

Greider rides into a mountain village along a path known to few. Once he gets there he asks for shelter for the winter. He is first met with open hostility, and then when they see the colour of his coin he is taken in and sent to stay with Luzi and her mother. He presents himself as a photographer - they say he has a mirror with a memory, and he sits back to wait for the first snow fall of the long winter ahead.The village is run by an elderman called Old Brenner and his six sons of varying degrees of dysfunctionality. Greider does have a past and that is tied up with the strange goings on in the mountain hide away. As the winter takes hold, so he slowly reveals why he has come to be amongst them.This is a revenge film in the classic sense of 'Pale Rider' et al, and that is not a plot spoiler. It is beautifully filmed, with some breath taking shots and captivating use of light and shade. There is a brooding sense of menace throughout and a pace that keeps things moving whilst still dallying enough to allow the right amount of anticipation to build. Filmed in Italy and presented in German (Tyrolean accent though) and in the Film Movement it also has the option of an English dubbed version - which has the lip synch issues that I cant abide. This is one of those films where I found myself shouting advice at the screen - I got that involved in it.Sam Reilly ('On the road' and 'Control') turns in an above solid performance as Greider and all the cast are believable. This has been nominated as Austria's entry for the Academy Awards of 2015 and I wish it all the best as it is truly an excellent film that proves the western still has a place in modern cinema.