Blind Horizon (2003) User Reviews

Intriguing made-for-video thriller

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 10 July 2005]

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Having sustained a head injury, Frank (Val Kilmer) awakens in hospital with nothing but a vague recollection of events that went before him and a knowing that the president will be assassinated in a small American town. With few people finding his story credible, he must race against the clock to put the pieces together and prevent wrong-doing of terrible proportions...

This is an engrossingly brainy video effort with an impressive use of camera and colour. Kilmer is never usually my most enjoyable of actors, but he is impressive here and so are the supporting cast including Noble Willingham, Neve Campbell and Faye Dunaway. ***

Stimulating suspense, noisy action and sharp-edge thriller as well as top-notch cast

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 28 May 2008]

Frank (Val Kilmer) is a lonely man with no identity who loses his records and suffers amnesia after being wounded in the desert of New Mexico. He has visions about a truck accident, hit men , explosion and snipers. He's attended in a hospital of a small town by a beautiful nurse (Amy Smart) and a doctor (Gil Bellows). Meanwhile, the town sheriffs (Sam Shepard , Noble Willinghan) are investigating the strange deeds. And there appears a mysterious girl (Neve Campbell) reclaiming to be his fiancée. Events go wrong and he realizes he can be a murderer has been hired to kill the US President . He must find a way to find out the enigma. The enemy is within. The enemy in me. He's lost his identity... next it may be his life.

This Neo-noir film packs action, suspense, thrills , shoot-outs and exciting scenes . The main and secondary casting give a first class performance . Kilmer as a hapless without memory is cool , he's the first among equal from extraordinary cast , such as Sam Shepard as an obstinate deputy , Giancarlo Esposito as a stubborn journalist and Faye Dunaway as shifty woman, among others. The film is slickly paced in original manner by means of several flashbacks, puzzles , jigsaw and with a pretentious plot , that's why it results to be a little confusing. It contains thrilling action set pieces as the spectacular gun-play proceeded in a tumultuous square where comes the US President. There's a little homage by paying tribute to the Mexican wrestling genre when the starring enters at a cinema theatre while showing the film titled 'Santo faces death' (1969) directed by Orozco and starred by Santo and Frank Braña . The film is produced in middling budget by Milennium, as usual, producers Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Trevor Short and Boaz Davison. The motion picture was professionally directed by Michael Haussman at his film debut and only movie. Although sometimes is dull and boring, the superb cast, relentless intrigue and fascinating thriller make this one well worth seeing.

A slightly troubled but fairly entertaining indie thriller.

[Samiam3 · 7/10 · 5 August 2010]

Blind Horizon makes two mistakes, that are often typical of the thriller genre: a) the plot is convoluted and b) is comes with a conventional third act twist which is predictable. This, and maybe one too make artsy montages taking up screen time, keeps Blind Horizon far from the level of greatness, but then again, it's kind of a B-movie. As far as indie thrillers go, this one is not too bad. It presents us with three or four interesting characters, well acted, with subtlety. Too bad the screenplay doesn't choose to invest much time with them. The only one who is considered important is that who Val Kilker plays.

Frank lies face down in the New Mexico desert when the curtain rises after the title sequence. He is taken to the hospital in the nearby town of Black Point. He is in a coma, but wakes up the next day. He does not remember a thing. Well...there is one thing he seems pretty sure of. He is convinced that in five days the president is gonna be assassinated in this very town. He does not know who will be committing this heinous crime, but he is desperate to get some answers.

The film is directed with a good level of subtlety. It's intention is to be as subjective as possible, as it tries to emphasize Frank's conflict with his own mind. It is profound, but despite its seeming mystery, the screenplay doesn't quite cover up as much as it thinks. It doesn't really require paying much attention in order to see where the film is going, and the implication given the way the answers are revealed in act three suggests that we are meant to be surprised, (then again maybe not, could the makers be this dumb?)

Blind Horizon, does not amount to a whole heck of a lot, but I enjoyed it. It is eerie, kind of interesting, and the three leads have a credible screen presence.

Fragmented Memories

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 December 2010]

Although we never really know why for certain a group of people want to assassinate the president, bits and pieces can be gleaned if one listens carefully to the background news coverage playing while the action of Blind Horizon is front and center. The main thing is that a man with a case of amnesia seems to know that a presidential assassination is to take place in a small Texas town and the president ain't even supposed to be there in his campaign for re-election.

Val Kilmer plays the protagonist in Blind Horizon. Some Indian kids find him shot and left for dead at the bottom of a cliff. The wound was a scalp laceration and the bullet didn't penetrate, but the fall has left him with a case of amnesia and only bits and pieces of his life seem to come together.

His mysterious presence has aroused the curiosity of Sam Shepard who wants to solve the mystery as he is the county sheriff and is running for re-election himself, his opponent being his own deputy Noble Willingham.

Kilmer has three women in his life, a fiancé played by Neve Campbell that of course he can't recall, Amy Smart, a hospital nurse willing to put in lots of overtime to help this patient recover and Faye Dunaway who seems to drift in and out of his fragmented memories for no discernible reason. Just who's playing on his team if Kilmer even has a team.

Blind Horizon seems to borrow a lot from both Warren Beatty's The Parallax View and the Gregory Peck thriller Mirage. Especially the Peck film, if you remember Peck was also suffering from a hysterical amnesia brought on by a traumatic event.

Probably best in the cast is Sam Shepard as the small town sheriff who knows he's a small cog in things, but isn't about to let a president get himself killed in his town on his watch.

The depiction of a small town in Texas is one of the best we've seen since Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show. Blind Horizon might be worth a look and it's a shame that a lot of critics dismissed it the first time around.

a man looses his memory and then drinks lots of tequila

[waterloo-5 · 22 June 2004]

Trust me, if I wake up in a hospital, having amnesia as a result from a bullet to the head and I have a vague recollection it's got something to do with killing the president. I'ld be out of that little town fast, real fast.

No, not in this movie, our hero spends the next hour or so (of the movie!!!) in the local pub drinking beer and tequilas and smoking one cigarette after the other. Trust me, I speak out of experience, that's the way to loose your memory, not to regain it.

There might have been more to it but I didn't get it. I don't think you will either...

Great Rainy Day Movie

[katatoe · 7/10 · 6 December 2008]

I don't think I would have enjoyed this film as much if I hadn't been sick after 2 days of hard work with my performance troupe (long story!).

I love Amy Smart & Neve Campbell. I once loved Val Kilmer (until I heard his band), but as an actor - I definitely respect him. He seems to have an addiction to these types of movies (De Ja Vu, Conspiracy, etc. - aka, Wannabe Psychological Thrillers). He should stop trying to be Bruce Willis and stick to character acting.

Pros: Great scoring. Some good artistic shots of cigarette smoke.

Cons: The storyline was very easy to predict. Camera angles & pans can be a little cheesy.

Things I Learned from Blind Horizon

[quitwastingmytime · 4/10 · 28 March 2021]

1. It makes perfect sense not to talk to your fiancee when you just came out of a coma with no memory. What could she possibly know?

2. A sheriff investigating two murders happening within a few days of a man coming out of a coma with no memory won't bother to run even a basic check of the background of said fiancee, who turns out to be an imposter and professional assassin.

3. Another professional assassin will beat you for no reason in a public bathroom.

4. That same pro hitman will then fail to shoot you when you are in his sights to instead shoot the assassin posing as your fiancee.

5. Presidents have almost zero protection, only two men standing by the limousine.

6. You can stand next to the biggest billboard with a sniper rifle and no one will notice.

7. You can shoot the president and no one will try to follow you. Just wear a hat.

8. A pretty young nurse 20 years younger than you will fall in love and offer to spend her life with you on the run.

Yeah, the film started off promising. But the last half is a complete mess with lots of holes. I felt cheated, and so will you.

How low have the careers of the main actors sunk to appear in this?

Memento moves west

[siderite · 7/10 · 18 December 2005]

A good thriller is one that makes you wonder all the time of what direction the movie will go next. From that point of view, this is a good thriller. You wonder who is who and what they are going to do next. However, a lot of those questions come from a pretty inconsistent plot. It's not a bad plot, quite the contrary, but the details are a bit off most of the time.

About Val Kilmer, he again makes a great role. He is more than an accomplished actor, he is still a promising one. From this point of view I recommend all his movies, starting with Top Secret :). There is a casting trend, though, to put him in movies where he is either drugged, amnesic or sick, sometimes him being FBI ,secret agent or somethings in the intelligence community. I don't think he will go far if he ends up with that label.

Faye Dunnaway, Neve Campbell and some other actors that you have seen in movies and expect them to be in good roles are actually quite the secondary characters; except Val Kilmer and the basic plot, everything else is a blur.

The atmosphere is good, as the movie is set up in a dusty western town and the music is appropriate. I think this is a good film to watch, not an extraordinary one, though, so don't get your hopes too high. There is a limited amount of romance and the action/violence is more suggested than exposed.

A decent film, overall.

[valdabyryn · 4/10 · 24 January 2004]

True - most of the plot elements have been done before. I was entertained throughout the whole film. Though many parts of the film can be prediected, it should still keep your attention. I disagree with one of the previous user's comments; I belive Val Kilmer's acting was believable, and was a wise selection for the role.

Suspense and Neve Campbell - Hooyah!

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 28 May 2007]

There isn't much that Neve Campbell (Scream, Wild Things) can do that isn't worth watching, even a straight-to-video thriller like this.

Val Kilmer (Heat, batman Forever) plays an amnesiac that has brief glimpses of a Presidential Assignation. Except for the fact that the President isn't anywhere near where they are, it could be believable. It is another case of everything not being what it seems, and that is what makes it fascinating.

It also stars Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff, Paris Texas), as the Sheriff. Shepard is always worth watching and gives a very good performance here.

Deja Vu

[plutokennedy · 3/10 · 5 January 2004]

A man gets shot, wakes up from a coma suffering from amnesia. He tries to figure out who he is and why he feels that the president's life is in danger. This not overly original plot is rather awkwardly handled by director Micheal Haussman, who makes sure that you figure out what is really happening pretty fast. This just proves that music video directors are not necessarily great story tellers. Decent performances by most of the cast, but Kilmer's is not very believable. Still, the movie is watchable, though it clearly has a 'direct to DVD' feel to it.

Excellent mystery

[SILENCEikillyou · 9/10 · 27 April 2005]

I noticed a lot of people saying the plot in this movie is too complicated. Perhaps. If you go to see a movie for simplicity and lots of action. If that's the case, this movie isn't for you. However, if you like to work things out in your mind while you watch an enjoyable storyline and deep plot; then look no further. I'm surprised this movie didn't get higher marks -as surprised as I am that it wasn't showcased more with other mainstream movies. With names like Val Kilmer, Amy Smart, and Neve Campbell. I enjoyed every second of this film and I think it's well worth seeing at least once to see of you agree.

Performances by the cast were right on the money. I read someone putting Amy Smart down for her hair being less that glamorous... OH BROTHER. Don't know many nurses that work the late shift, eh? Besides it was fine and she still looks cute. Neve, on the other hand WAS gorgeous with a cute bob. However, appearances don't matter in this film. They all did a great job. OK, maybe Sam Shepard phoned his role in... but he was highly believable and a small town sheriff.

Val Kilmer was awesome in his quirky way. He made you believe he really did have amnesia. You could definitely tell where he put his own nuances to the role. He's quite a perfectionist... and a genius.

The directing was well-placed. There were other stories to tell for such a small town and this movie showed them all without leaving the central theme. The mystery unravels bits and pieces at a time; like it should and you never REALLY know for sure what's going to happen next. Terrific! I voted 9/10 because I haven't seen such a tremendous film so well hidden before. You be your own judge, but definitely give this film in the shadows a try.

Slow paced Deja-Vu

[LaserLounge · 6/10 · 1 January 2004]

Not bad enough to be called bad but not good enough either. I watched it during 3 evenings. I fell asleep but was still wondering what happens next. But it didn't really happen very much until the end. Amy Smart is definitely the highlight of the money. Not because of her acting but because of her lovely face. The movie is about amnesia. And so I feel about it now: I've forgotten everything but Amy's smile.

SPOILERS...SPOILERS...

[How-soon-is-now · 4/10 · 16 January 2004]

I saw this movie just a couple of hours ago and must say it is BORING AND VERY PREDICTABLE. Dont waste your money on it. We have seen many scripts in the last few years with similar plots and suprise endings. This one was no suprise at all. Ok they tried to give us hints, but they gave away the whole story. I could tell Frank was the assasin himself and Chloe was not his fiancee the first 20 minutes. I expected better from these actors. Maybe not Campbell, but Kilmer is at an age where he cant risk to play in these silly movies anymore. 4 out of 10. And that just to be nice.

Yawn..

[filmfreak-5 · 26 April 2004]

A man gets shot, wakes up from a coma suffering total memoryloss.

He tries to figure out who he is and why he feels that the presidents life is in danger. Oh and trust me, after five minutes you already figured out the so-called twist, but you keep thinking to yourself that it cannot be that simple - well, it is...save yourself the time! The beginning of the film gives it all away.

A couple of decent acting performances here, but nothing out of the ordinary - then again, with a script like this....you know...

Just another time waster that prooves that the Hollywood money machine won the battle against decent scripts. I'm reluctant to drop Hollywood films entirely, they're more or less all the same - lots of sha-bang, nothing to wear it in..

On a scale from yawn to wow: zzzzz....

Excellent conspiracy thriller

[hotride · 7/10 · 11 August 2021]

If you are into the genre of conspiracy thrillers/political thrillers, this movie will not disappoint you. A splendid Val Kilmer who delivers an outstanding performance, plus support from Sam Shepard and Faye Dunaway (who actually has limited screen time, but nevertheless makes quite an impression).

The plot is complex and one really must pay attention in order to grasp it, but from my point of view this is not necessarily a flaw.

Overall, a solid 2000's thriller with an excellent Val Kilmer. 7/10.

"Do you have something to say? Then we just say it straight, okay?"

[refinedsugar · 6/10 · 2 November 2022]

That there is a line from Val Kilmer's character in this film and a piece of advice the movie does not follow. There's this opinion building that 'Blind Horizon' is a sleeper hit of a movie. Not recognized and underappreciated however that's just not the case. This one was quickly forgotten about for fair reasons.

Featuring a decent cast of faces, a middling story that is both simple yet convoluted with themes and situations we've seen trend before. The plot of 'a man who's been shot and left for dead', an amnesia angle, assassins, who's who, motivations, trust. It's all seasoned ground told in a one step behind stale format mean to illicit twists & turns for surprises.

You might like the recognizable faces in the supporting cast, the slow burn nature of the flick. However you might also see where things are going before they get there. It doesn't move at a brisk enough pace to overcome these shortfalls. They should have removed a supporting character or two that served as nothing but filler (or as a red herring) and got to a satisfying place quicker.

I like Val Kilmer. He's turned in some really good stuff over the years and I can understand why he might have been interested in this material as more than just a paycheck. However the end result doesn't amount to much. As-is, 'Blind Horizon' didn't make an impact when it was released because it's not great, not horrible - just barely above average. Give it a go, but I can't join the chorus hyping it up to be more than it really is.

A Mess

[blowfelt · 1/10 · 6 November 2005]

I could go on about the plot holes and inexplicable missing elements (like main character motivations!), the thin characters with no real opportunity to develop, a musical score that is off base it is almost funny, and finally a director who clearly is out of his element when not doing music videos.

Note to the director: Scenes, camera movement, and music are supposed to serve the story not become the story.

From reading the comments it looks like the original script had promise (I would say the ideas are interesting and might explain how they were able to attract some name actors) but the leadership of the film obviously did not have any real vision on how to bring all the elements together.

An example of a real bad choice would be the constant use of Middle Eastern influenced vocalizations in a movie that is supposed to be set in Southern New Mexico. Now that is not to put down the actual music, as it is really pretty good own it's on. It just seems to me nobody was questioning the direction of the musical choices.

For me this is a failure by the director. In every major element of the film; from editing, the character choices made by the actors, the score, and the cinematography it is like they all were trying to do there own thing. No one seemed to be insuring that all the oars were rowing in the same direction.

Why illicit drugs are bad

[munitzs · 4/10 · 26 February 2006]

A cold, greasy, scrambled egg. That's the gastronomic equivalent of this movie.

The editing chops backwards and forwards, across time and space. The direction relied on meaningful looks and clichéd camera angles.

Acting? Kilmer was more convincing when he was comatose. Faye Dunawaye gives the performance of her career - the WORST. As for the others, who knows and who cares.

OK, the actors had to deal with a really bad script. But let's be fair, how does anyone make a decent script from a stupid hackneyed story? Even the "twists" are predictable Spoilers: Kilmer is shot and thrown off a 30 foot cliff. He's in hospital without any obvious injuries and is released two days later absolutely fine! Then he gets seriously beaten up a day or two later, and again, a visit to the hospital and he's 100%.

All can be explained if they were all on drugs - and if this was the case this shows why illicit drugs are bad.

Val Kilmer channels his inner Marlon Brando...

[somf · 5/10 · 11 February 2006]

circa Missouri Breaks. I just love the work of Val Kilmer. Normally he is so great at elevating his material, to me his work in "Tombstone" was the number one case in point, but here he just seems to be messing with the role and probably confounding his costars and director. I'll bet you no one in this film from the talented Sam Shepard to the pretty good Neve Campbell to the deservedly up and coming Amy Smart ever want to work with the guy again. I'd love a chance to have a talk with the director and find out if my hunches are correct, but I will say that the director of this film should probably shoulder far less of the blame for the mess that it turned out to be than Mr. Kilmer. Granted the script was trying to go for a sort of "Memento" narrative and fails miserably, but I did watch the entire film. It kept me interested, but so darned weird. I would only recommend it for Val Kilmer's biggest fans. I hope the guy comes back to reality some day. He is so talented.

Nifty Little Thriller, Better Than You'd Think!

[cariart · 8/10 · 11 October 2006]

"Blind Horizon", an amnesia action/mystery with some 'big name' stars, went straight to DVD without ever being theatrically released, so many have 'written it off' as a lousy film; but if you give it a chance, this is actually a very entertaining little gem! Directed by Michael Haussman, the distributor, Lion's Gate, dissatisfied with the rambling 'director's cut', brought in ace film editor Alain Jakubowicz to punch up the film, and his re-cut gives the movie an edgy, fast-paced 'look', reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's "Memento", especially in the central portrayal of Val Kilmer's "Frank Kavanaugh". A likable 'lost soul', shot and left to die in the desert, who knows vague details of a plot to assassinate the President, he gradually discovers he is not a 'nice' person, and is, in fact, a key player in the high-level conspiracy. But as with Harrison Ford, in "Regarding Henry", his amnesia offers him an opportunity to 'change' his whole persona...if he can survive the attempts to silence him, and conquer his own instincts as a 'hit man'.

Blessed with a first-rate cast, "Blind Horizon" offers many intriguing supporting portrayals, from a likable local sheriff (Sam Shepard), and his politically ambitious deputy (Noble Willingham), to the mysterious 'fiance' (Neve Campbell) Kavanaugh can't seem to remember, and the beautiful nurse (Amy Smart), he'd LIKE to know better, to a mysterious 'contact' (Faye Dunaway), who drifts in and out of his dreams, with missing pieces of the puzzle. Kilmer is, as always, eminently watchable, capturing both the innocent and unsavory sides of Kavanaugh very effectively, and making his climactic actions worth waiting for.

Of special note is the film score, written by the collective group of composers, Machine Head. Working with non-traditional instruments, the 'sound' is both musical and mysterious, and ideally suits the film's ambiguity.

"Blind Horizon" certainly deserves a look, as a film far better than it's ill-fated history would indicate. I enjoyed it, and I think you will, too!

B-thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 19 September 2021]

Frank Kavanaugh (Val Kilmer) wakes up in the hospital with memory lost. He thinks that the president is in danger but can't remember the details. Nobody actually believes him and they assume it to be part of his condition.

It's a functional dark thriller for a little while. When Chloe is reluctant to get naked in front of Frank, it becomes obvious that she is lying about everything. At that point, the movie needs to start laying out the twists and turns. It feels like a lot of it is left to the last act. It's a lot of jamming in stuff. By the final twist, I'm not sure that any of it makes sense. This ends up being nothing more than a B-movie thriller.

Lost Horizon - SPOILERS

[Rogue-32 · 4/10 · 19 December 2004]

I have to say that Val Kilmer is quite possibly the only person on the planet who still manages to looks mind-numbingly handsome while wearing one of those ridiculous green hospital gowns, and this is a good thing - it's not good enough, of course, to make this shamelessly heavy-handed piece of claptrap anything but mind-numbingly ridiculous, from beginning to end.

The biggest problem is the script, which leaves nothing to the imagination; I had the entire plot figured out by the time -=- SPOILER ALERT -=- Neve Campbelll shows up trying to pass as Kilmer's fiancée; anyone with half a brain who has seen his/her share of movies knows instantly that she is not, and it's not too much of a jump to figure out that HE's the potential assassin. -=- END OF SPOILER. To give you an example of how heavy-handed this film is, there's actually a scene where Kilmer's stopped slugging down tequila like he's Doc Holliday and is finally putting the pieces together, while there's a delightfully subtle clock ticking in the background, just to remind us that time, indeed, is running out.

Don't get me wrong, Kilmer's superb acting and dazzling charm do go a long way, of course, make no mistake, and that's worth something: a 4, which is my IMDb rating for this lost Horizon.

not very good

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 16 March 2014]

Blind Horizon is a heavily derivative film that went right to video. It has interesting elements, but the director went for style over substance, using a lot of quick cuts and disjointed flashbacks.

Frank (Val Kilmer) is found shot and nearly dead in a Texas border town. He's lost his memory and does not recognize the young woman (Neve Campbell) who shows up and says she's his fiancé.

Frank keeps having flashbacks of various things, often violence, and has the feeling that he knows something he shouldn't. He finally reports to the sheriff (Sam Shepherd) that he thinks the President is going to be assassinated, but he doesn't know how he knows that. Everyone dismisses what he says. The place is a truck stop and while the President is going through the area shoring up votes, he's not coming to the town.

Blind Horizon was deliberately obscure - it's not a hard plot to follow, but it's obvious the director wanted us to think it was a lot more complicated. I found it disjointed and unsettling to watch, due to the way it was put together. Faye Dunaway has what is tantamount to a walk-on.

This is a great movie!

[newfiesailor · 8/10 · 27 August 2006]

Don't let the rating of the IMDb fool you. This is truly a great movie, very comparable to Blood Simple. Both movies revolve around a magnificent representation of small town southern US, and the setting plays a huge role in both.

The acting is peerless in this film, with Val Kilmer at his finest and notable supporting performances by Sam Shephard, Amy Smart and Neve Campbell. I would imagine most people who voted poorly for this movie were put off by it's slower pace but to myself, it was sheer magic. This movie hits every right note.

Val Kilmer plays Frank Kavanaugh, a man who wakes up in a border town with amnesia after being shot in the head. The rest of the movie is Frank recalling tiny glimpses of his memory brought on by sudden triggers involving the President of the United States, scenes of violence, and mental images of people and places. Neve Campbell plays Kilmer's suspicious wife, Amy Smart is Frank's nurse and Shephard plays the small town sheriff investigating Frank's shooting.

The difference in this movie and some of the big budget Hollywood films is how they manage to capture some of the smaller scenes so right. The seedy bars, the desolation, the cheap hotels, the small hospital. Incredible and has to be seen for that direction alone.

If you are a fan of truly great direction on a lower budget film with grittiness, plot twists and amazing performances then look no further. This is your movie.

Classify it under "The Hidden Gems" category.