The horror genre has been one of the most favored beneficiaries with the resurgence of Westerns in the last ten years, as a number of mixed-genre films like Prey (2022), Bone Tomahawk (2015), and The Pale Door (2020) witnessed some remarkable success among viewers and critics alike.
One such movie is Organ Trail which joins this subgenre; it is a revenge themed western film that was directed by Michael Patrick Jann (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Reno 911!) in 2023. Meg Turner wrote it.
Olivia Grace Applegate (Love & Death), Zoé De Grand Maison (Riverdale, Orphan Black), Clé Bennett (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Sam Trammell (Trublood, Homeland) and Nicholas Logan (I Care a Lot) star in Organ Trail.
It tells the story of Abigail Archer played by Maison who watches her entire family being killed by rowdy bandits then almost dies while trying to escape but later decides to confront them together with a local rancher played by Clé Bennett so that she can save one member of her family who survived; her horse.
Organ Trail’s cinematography is easily among its finest and most beautiful aspects. Joe Kessler also worked with him on Reno 911! and had previously done an excellent job working on The Mothman Prophecies using on-location shots in Montana’s beautiful mountains to amplify his craft.
The camera work brilliantly highlights the isolated feel of being alone in the Northwest, and the dangers that lie not necessarily with the men chasing Abigail, but within the cold, unapologetic, and deadly environment the story takes place in. Instead of going for typical Hollywood-built Western town set scenes either under snowed-over plains or ice-covered rivers are more captivating. Full marks for directing!
Contrary to how Organ Trail was marketed or its use of a game called ‘zombie-themed western’ the movie is not very scary. It was anticipated that there would be a lot of organs but apart from some few gunshots, stabbings, and burn makeup, this movie was just another ordinary Western revenge flick. As much as the story circumstances were horrific, there was no supernatural element in it neither did it contain any extra bloodshed or jump scares that might qualify it even remotely to belong in the horror genre. No zombies or cannibalistic backcountry dwellers here.
That is not to say that this detracted anything from the film; however, people should bear in mind what Organ Trail seemed to be advertised as. Organ Trail is a straight Western thriller. In addition, typical injuries one would find in any other old school cowboy movie set looked real, while snowy white backdrop of battles contrasted bloody aftermaths pretty well.
The great thing about Organ Trail separating itself from another regular western revenge film is its excellent use of villains. One or two of these henchmen are present solely for quotes and poorly done slapstick deaths-on-demand; Sam Trammell and Nicholas Logan stand out most among them throughout the entire film though. Although Trammell’s character had been built up as the main villain him being distinctive was due to Logan’s savage behavior and frightening image.
Trammell is as scummy as they get but it is clear that he is in it for the spoils of dominating those weaker than him. Logan’s character has something about him that makes him scary. More specifically, there is a scene with a local tavern owner (in a surprise cameo from Reno 911!’s Thomas Lennon) where Logan reveals his sadistic nature in arguably the most gory instance in the film. He obviously does not give much thought to killing even those who are on his side, making for an excellent antagonist that viewers cheer against.
For one thing, Organ Trail has some beautiful cinematography and great bad guys so you should at least check it out for these reasons alone but overall it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, does not differentiate itself enough from other movies and might have done better if marketed closer to its actual type. There are some fresh entries into Western revenge flick sub-genre like this one; however, this works best when looking for something different rather than all round quality where there are many others films similar to it which deserve more time spent on them.
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