9/10
Amateurish but entertaining, offbeat western based on a true story
29 June 2002
The Legend of Alfred Packer is the unbelievable true story of the only man ever convicted in the U.S. of cannibalism, the same story later told in the film "Cannibal! the Musical", and partially told in "Ravenous". This film is unintentionally funny as it was so ineptly acted. The two actors that play the grotesque mountain men\trappers steal the show, while Packer is portrayed as a burley, half-crazed Civil War vet. Despite the bad acting, the locations and costumes are great. The direction is adequate but the internal and night-time scenes are very dark, resulting from either bad lighting or a bad video transfer. I cannot tell. Watching this movie it's easy to see that it was used as a reference for "Cannibal!" as some of the scenes, narrative devices, and even a costume design exactly parallel the ones in this movie. Despite it's shortcomings, I did enjoy seeing it.
18 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed