After months of watching movies “just for fun,” I figured it’s time to dust off the old keyboard and share a few of my thoughts on one. I’m not sure I even remember how to do this, but what better way to dive back into the swing of things than with Ted Geoghegan’s newest film, Mohawk.
During a time when the Brits and Americans were at war, the Mohawk tribe is doing its best to remain neutral. This is made rather difficult, however, when one of the Mohawk women has one ‘Redcoat’ and one pugnacious warrior as her lovers. Now Oak (Kaniehtiio Horn, Death Wish) and the two men, Joshua (Eamon Farren, Chained) and Calvin Two Rivers (Justin Rain, TV’s Fear the Walking Dead), must fight back against the soldiers who just couldn’t leave them out of it all.
Set during the final stages of the War of 1812, Mohawk does not feature a large cast like we might be accustom to with films based on historically accurate wartime events. The great thing about that is us viewers are able to now get more familiar with each individual character. The entire cast does a remarkable job with performances that, I must admit, were way better than I anticipated. After looking at who makes up the cast, however, I should have given these actors much more credit going in. Kaniehtiio Horn, Eamon Farren, and Justin Rain played our protagonists, who you can’t help but to root for as you witness the atrocities happening around them. I was even more impressed, however, by the antagonists, which included Robert Longstreet, Ezra Buzzington, and Jon Huber (also known as professional wrestler… err… I mean sports entertainer, Luke Harper). All of these men, along with the others that made up the camp of American soldiers, were a pleasure to watch on-screen.
While Mohawk isn’t necessarily a straight-up horror flick, it does depict some pretty heinous stuff. This action drama revenge thriller (yeah, that’s some nice blending of genres there, huh!?) consists of 99% practical effects; Bullets tearing through bodies, knives and tomahawks being plunged into flesh, and a bunch of other great kills, which I won’t ruin for you fine folks, all look incredible throughout the film’s 91 minute runtime.
Director and co-writer, Ted Geoghegan, has done a fantastic job providing genre fans with another great film for their collections. Mohawk is completely different from his freshman outing, We Are Still Here, but aides in further cementing the fact that the man knows what he is doing. I, for one, cannot wait to see what he has in store next, as he is already two for two with great entries in his filmography.
If you like revenge films with a little more substance than your typical rape-revenge fare, you will greatly enjoy Mohawk. The cinematography is beautiful, the performances are top-notch, and the practical effects are horrendous and gorgeous at the same time. Do yourself a favor and watch this film. It is available now, on Blu-ray and DVD from Dark Sky Films.
I give Mohawk a Repulsive rating of 4 flying tomahawks out of 5.
