Ghost Rock (2004)

User Rating:

3.4/10   

Director:

Dustin Rikert

Writers:

Dustin Rikert (story)
Michael Worth (story)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Western

Tagline:

The old West.....with a new attitude!

Plot:

In 1882, 20 years after an almost forgotten massacre took place, the only living witness to the crime...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Wilhelm Scream | 1880s

Cast

Gary Busey	...	Jack Pickett
Michael Worth	...	John Slaughter
Jeff Fahey	...	Moses Logan
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Mattie Baker
Craig Wasson	...	Cherokee Bill
Jenya Lano	...	Savanah Starr
James Hong	...	Weng
John Laughlin	...	Sheriff Clay
Rance Howard	...	Cash
David Jean Thomas	...	Kill'n Jim Jackson
Christa Sauls	...	Jasmine
April Hong	...	Ming
Peter Kwong	...	Song
Michiko Nishiwaki	...	Hana
Dan Southworth	...	Wu Chen (as Daniel Southworth)

Also Known As:

The Reckoning (USA) (alternative title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Germany:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Mescal, Arizona, USA

Company:

Grizzly Peak Films

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: Falling bad guy during first shootout.

Low Budget...but has heart

Some of these reviews seem pretty harsh and make me think some people just don't watch the film. But, to each their own.

The film was low budget, but is DEFINATELY not shot on video. It's shot on film, as most westerns should be. As for martial arts in the old west...come on, THAT IS THE POINT. You have an American raised with a Chinese family and that's how he knows how to fight. No one complained about Jackie Chan or David Carradine in the old west....but then maybe some out there think you actually need to BE Chinese to fight like that (I'm Chinese and I don't).

Also, the whole reason Gary Busey isn't going around killing people in this film as he did in the opening scene is because his characcter WANTS TO CHANGE. He is trying to be the mayor of the town instead of a dirtbag outlaw. He says that in the film (someone wasn't listening I guess) This is where some original and subtle writing comes in (by actor Michael Worth): Busey is trying to lead a different life than his past life but realizes, when the surviving children of an earlier massacre return to find him, you can't change a tiger's stripes. I think this might be too much out of stereotype for some of the reviewers here. Like make the bad guy JUST bad instead of conflicted(Busey is giving a kid candy while he is having a guy whipped....)

The film is only boring if you want action every 10 minutes. This is a drama with action elements. I think that was a great idea as it would have been typical to make this an excuse to just shoot and fight. It has a nice love story between Worth and Jenya Lano, some cool characters in the town (including the outlaws that follow Busey) and some great fight scenes that don't go over the top as is typical today.

Like I said, it's low budget but that didn't hurt El Mariachi or Evil Dead so it certainly doesn't hurt here either. I rented it and will buy it next.