This is a film worth a watch but it doesn't rate as a classic unless your thing is gratuitous torture scenes. It has the potential to be an excellent film as it contains some nice cinematography, a decent soundtrack some excellent acting and a revenge plot that puts you firmly on the side of the protagonist. There are a couple of nice twists and a sweet, surrogate father-daughter relationship between Peter Marshall and Caroline Marohasy.The film falls down by not developing enough narrative between the bouts of violence. I think they could have reduced the revenge attacks by half and developed the story about the ever expanding gang of rapist bully boys. As it is, it gets quite repetitive.There is only so much pain the normal human body can take, and in the world of films its acceptable to notch that up somewhat. The Horseman pushes the suspension of disbelief a little too far for my liking.How many times have we seen that fumbling with key and handcuffs routine? Its a shame when a film hints at a potential of being very good but ultimately the narrative lets it down.

My mate recommended this film to me and I read that the director was 26 when this came out. Sweet.I really enjoyed the film. The violence is non stop and although some scenes are pretty unrealistic (4 bad guys couldn't contain the lead man and he beats the $hit out of them all and kills them ha-ha) I still really enjoyed The Horseman. The scene with the sledge hammer was awesome.The lead actor was off on some scenes but I think he carried the film well and portrayed a avenging father very nicely.You should see this film if you get the chance. It's inspired me to have more faith in my film making dreams as I'm the same age as the director was when he made it.

Imagine a stylish, modern, ultra-dark and gritty re-run of the Liam Neeson actioner TAKEN, made on a tiny budget in Australia, and you'll be close to THE HORSEMAN, a film that takes visceral action to new levels of extremism. In a nutshell, the film's about revenge: a grieving father discovers that his daughter appeared in a porn film shortly before her death and goes to track down the men who coerced her into it. He wants nothing more than to beat their brains in with a crowbar, and that's exactly what he does.So far, so par for the course when it comes to exploitation. Where THE HORSEMAN wins plaudits is in its intensity: there are a series of brutal action sequences as pulse-pounding as those in the Bourne films and the script never lets up when it comes to anger, sadism and vengeance. The performances elicited from an unknown cast are very down to earth and realistic, particularly Peter Marshall's depiction of a grieving father seeking revenge.The violence is extreme and also realistic, often gratuitous. I feel the film oversteps the boundaries of taste at the climatic torture sequence, which delves into sexual violence unexpectedly and left me feeling sickened; it's clear that HOSTEL was an inspiration for this sequence and I can't help but feel that the film would have done better without it. Still, aside from this misstep, THE HORSEMAN hearkens back to the gritty downbeat revenge films of the 1970s, where lack of budget and scope was never a problem for a filmmaker with a dark story to tell.

Watching this film my mark was a solid 6 it does drag in places but after watching the making of on the DVD extras I gave it another 2. The money spent on this film was practically nothing the crew were students working for free and the director is a young down to earth guy. The actor in the lead role was quality and watching the action back it's on par with anything the South Koreans are turning out. It's a tiny film but it packs a punch I'd say it's very sadistic and brutal but not torture porn as the guy does what any father would do if he has nothing to live for. The sound editing is partly what stopped it being great but watching how it was made I have nothing but respect for the people involved. I urge you to watch it and then the making of and make your own conclusions... 8/10