Little known fact about me – I love Westerns. Maybe it’s how I was raised – my grandfather loved old Western films and I watched a lot of them with him. It made me gravitate to any time a Western is done in modern-day. Deadwood, Godless, etc. I even liked the reboot of Magnificent Seven – though, it doesn’t hold a candle to the original. My point is, if I see a Western available, I’m going to try to check it out.
The Plot
When I saw Amazon Prime had 2019’s Hell on the Border available, I checked it out. First of all, it has Frank Grillo in it. I’m a huge fan and to see him as an outlaw cowboy was an opportunity I couldn’t miss out on. Hell on the Border is also about Bass Reeves – the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal. So, it should have been a really powerful and impactful story about a figure in history that maybe not everyone knows about.
Unfortunately, Hell on the Border suffers from a low production value, poor editing, and a really badly misplaced soundtrack. On top of all that, there wasn’t a whole lot of good acting to be had. Even from actors like Ron Perlman – who acted as if he isn’t a good actor. Hell on the Border wasn’t a good indie film – it felt more like a poorly strung together art project.
As a fan of indie films as well, I was annoyed by the way the movie tried to make up for not having enough money to do certain things a bigger budgeted movie would be able to do. The jump cuts of one person standing and the next on the floor, dead. I also disliked the cheesy scenes and acting done by men and women as if it were their first day on a film set. Ron Perlman, you’re better than this.
Rating: 2/5
What annoyed me most, though; was that Frank Grillo was the best thing about this movie. Now, I just said I was a Grillo fan. I’ll watch anything he’s in and he’s a great actor in anything he’s in. So, it doesn’t surprise me he was the best thing in the film. But, the movie was supposed to be about Bass Reeves. Not only was he given very little screen time, but the lines weren’t great for him, and all in all, he was a forgettable character. This is the first African American Deputy U.S. Marshal. This should have been primarily about him. It should have featured almost him entirely, with a better plotline and much better lines. Ultimately, Bass Reeves’s memory is not honored in this film as it should have been.
Have you watched Hell on the Border? What did you think about it?
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A girl with too many fandoms to count.
