MovieChat Forums > Forsaken (2016) Discussion > Low budget "Pale Rider"...

Low budget "Pale Rider"...


Has anyone else seen the similarity? The story is almnost the same, and there are scenes almost identical! (the quarrel at the store, for example).

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I thought when he bought the axe handle in town he was going to do a Clint Eastwood. But no, he asks the bad guys if he could take him home. And says please to boot.

I don't think Clint let himself get beat up in Pale Rider.

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Ya I see the similarities but I also kept thinking of Unforgiven as well.

It wasn't a bad movie but it certainly lacked in originality.

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Low budget "Pale Rider"...

...which was a shocking rip-off of 1953's "Shane," so don't act like "Pale Rider" was some remarkably original Western (don't get me wrong, I love that movie, but original it ain't).

There are significant differences between "Forsaken" and "Pale Rider" (SPOILERS):

John Henry (Kiefer) in "Forsaken" is a human being rather than a mysterious supernatural figure like the Preacher (Eastwood) in "Pale Rider."

John Henry served during the Civil War, clearly suffering PTSS and swearing off killing whereas the Preacher appears as a sort of angel of vengeance with zero qualms about killing those who deserve it.

John Henry humbles himself, allowing himself to get his axx kicked, whereas the Preacher is superhuman, always kicking axx from the get-go.

As a human being, John Henry repents in tears in the church facility, hugged by his father, whereas the Preacher needs to do no such thing.

John Henry loved the woman (Mary Alice) enough to not mess with her in any way and thus risk destroying her family whereas the Preacher has sex with the woman even though her kindly husband, Hull, is his friend and he's supposed to be an agent of righteousness (!), which is a gaping plot hole.

John Henry doesn't want to take on Gentleman Dave, if he doesn't have to, likely because they're birds of a feather and he recognizes Dave's code of honor, unlike the other scumbag thugs hired by McMurdy (Cox). He also mercifully allows the young hirelings the chance to leave the gunfight. By contrast, the Preacher basically kills everyone linked to the villain without mercy.

"Forsaken" is real-life dramatic Western whereas "Pale Rider" is a mythical Western with supernatural elements.

My 175 (or so) Favorite Movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/

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Well put.

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Agreed. Although the similarities to Pale Rider are inevitable, I think it's due to their both being derived from Shane. To me, the film was pretty clearly an attempt to negotiate a merger of Shane and Unforgiven (down to it's rather derivative title after the latter,) while throwing in the estranged father-son element for good measure. Still, not a bad genre flick, and the Gent Dave character is an interesting homage twist on the pure evil of Palance's in the classic film.

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the film was pretty clearly an attempt to negotiate a merger of Shane and Unforgiven

Well said.


My 175 (or so) Favorite Movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/

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