In this Civil War tale that takes place in the spring of 1863, Adrian Pasdar stars as a Union captain named John Harling, who must discover who is slaughtering their troops. The culprits actually turn out to be supernatural soldiers who are butchering troops on BOTH sides of the conflict, in the name of "resurrecting" America. Going along on the journey is a Confederate prisoner of war named Nehemiah Strayn (Corbin Bernsen) who was once Harlings' mentor at West Point, until the war broke out and they chose different sides. Also present is a runaway slave, Rebecca (Cynda Williams), who is mute and who may have the key to defeating the antagonists.
On paper, this must have seemed quite intriguing: a strange, murky blend of the Civil War and horror genres, complete with lots of literate dialogue. The film is fairly entertaining if not all that satisfying. The viewer does get plenty of exposition to at least give them some idea of WHY all of this is happening, but the demonic killers are just not that intimidating. Plus, most of the characters are not fleshed out to a great degree. Still, this feature (also known as "Ghost Brigade", "The Lost Brigade", and "The Killing Box") remains something of a curio, with its mix of atmosphere, violence, and surrealism. Unfortunately, night time scenes are too dark for us to see much of the gory mayhem (devised by the boys at KNB). It also has strong echoes of "Apocalypse Now", since Martin Sheen has a cameo as the general who sends Harling on his mission, and the director is "Heart of Darkness" documentarian George Hickenlooper.
The ensemble cast at least does ensure some interest. Pasdar is nicely under-stated as the hero, while Bernsen has one of his best roles (and gives one of his best performances) as the colourful Strayn. Ray Wise is likewise a standout as a jut jawed Union colonel. The supporting cast consists of a number of familiar faces and stars-to-be: Roger Wilson, Jefferson Mays, Billy Bob Thornton, Dean Cameron, David Arquette, Alexis Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, Josh Evans, Peter Sherayko, and Brent Briscoe. Hickenlooper appears on screen as a painter; adding a degree of unreality is the fact that Thomas the drummer boy is actually played by a female, actress A. J. Langer.
This material had some potential, so it might be interesting to see someone take another crack at it (and hopefully be afforded a larger budget than what these filmmakers had to work with).
Monte Hellman was one of the editors.
Six out of 10.
On paper, this must have seemed quite intriguing: a strange, murky blend of the Civil War and horror genres, complete with lots of literate dialogue. The film is fairly entertaining if not all that satisfying. The viewer does get plenty of exposition to at least give them some idea of WHY all of this is happening, but the demonic killers are just not that intimidating. Plus, most of the characters are not fleshed out to a great degree. Still, this feature (also known as "Ghost Brigade", "The Lost Brigade", and "The Killing Box") remains something of a curio, with its mix of atmosphere, violence, and surrealism. Unfortunately, night time scenes are too dark for us to see much of the gory mayhem (devised by the boys at KNB). It also has strong echoes of "Apocalypse Now", since Martin Sheen has a cameo as the general who sends Harling on his mission, and the director is "Heart of Darkness" documentarian George Hickenlooper.
The ensemble cast at least does ensure some interest. Pasdar is nicely under-stated as the hero, while Bernsen has one of his best roles (and gives one of his best performances) as the colourful Strayn. Ray Wise is likewise a standout as a jut jawed Union colonel. The supporting cast consists of a number of familiar faces and stars-to-be: Roger Wilson, Jefferson Mays, Billy Bob Thornton, Dean Cameron, David Arquette, Alexis Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, Josh Evans, Peter Sherayko, and Brent Briscoe. Hickenlooper appears on screen as a painter; adding a degree of unreality is the fact that Thomas the drummer boy is actually played by a female, actress A. J. Langer.
This material had some potential, so it might be interesting to see someone take another crack at it (and hopefully be afforded a larger budget than what these filmmakers had to work with).
Monte Hellman was one of the editors.
Six out of 10.