Organ Trail (2023)

Organ Trail (2023), directed by MichaelPatrickJann and written by MegTurner, is a bold take on the horror‑western genre, with a limited release on April 14, 2023 and VOD on May 12 of the same year. The film tells the story of Abigale "Abby" Archer (ZoéDeGrandMaison), who lives with her parents and younger brother in a Conestoga wagon through the wilds of Oregon. One day, the entire family is murdered by bandits, leaving only Abby alive but being held hostage along with Cassidy (OliviaGraceApplegate) — the woman who saved Abby. Abby is determined not only to seek revenge, but also to fight to get back the horse Fable — the family's last possession. The story unfolds in an abandoned ghost town, filled with intrigue, torture and cruel coercion.

 The film is highly appreciated for its strong drama and multi-dimensional characters: although there are many modern dialogues such as the use of the word "fuckery", it helps the film maintain a balance between the classic setting and the closeness and satire suitable for modern audiences. Characters such as Rhys (NicholasLogan) - a sadist who does not feel pain - or Logan (SamTrammell), the leader of the gang of robbers, are clearly portrayed in their crazy nature and strange personality. The appearance of the character Cassidy accidentally becomes a catalyst for the film's flow, with Olivia's performance contributing to turning all the pain and helplessness into determination to survive and fight back. Although praised for its visual beauty: snow-covered scenes, mountainous terrain in Montana in winter, and smoke effects, creating a cold and isolated, wild Wild West atmosphere, the film was criticized for being out of sync, having many slow scenes, "cows" between action scenes, and lacking a high level of focus in the script.

 Critics also said that the film was true to the Western genre but not "horror" enough; many segments only created a sense of horror at the end of the film, and at first, it was hard to see any "organs" that matched the title. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 37% due to few professional reviews, while the audience voted around 50% - reflecting a controversial film: some found it "gnarly horror western", "super grizzly", very suitable for fans of BoneTomahawk or TheWind. Some people complained about the “dreadful dialogue” or “misleading trailer” because it was advertised as a horror film but was more Western.

Regarding the “trigger warning” factor: on the reddit forum, viewers shared that the film only implied sexual assault, not directly depicting rape. Some opinions emphasized that the film was quite fierce, realistically violent, full of blood, and easily shocking.In short, Organ Trail is a notable film in the horror-western genre, standing out thanks to its brave director, excellent cinematography, and some intense acting scenes. However, the film was deducted points because of its unbalanced storytelling speed, modern dialogue that did not really match the setting, and the promotion being a bit “out of sync” with the actual content. If you are a fan of dark westerns with a bit of horror, willing to overcome the lulls to wait for the creepy climax, Organ Trail is still worth experiencing.