Popular reviews

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  Review by Josiah Morgan 3

  some things i like about in a valley of violence:

  1. i like that in a valley of violence opens with ethan hawke saying the plot for ten minutes

  2. i like that the dog has superpowers

  3. i like james ransone, i hope he gets famous soon. give him money, he looks sad.

  4. i like that ethan hawke gets emotional halfway through and yells at a bird to vent his anger

  5. i like that this score wants to be like what ennio morricone did in once upon a time in the west except it feels more like mulholland drive

  6. "nothing like some good ol' shot reverse shot"

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  Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★½

  If you wanted to know what John Wick would be like as a western with a witty screenplay and Ethan Hawke's lovely mug, then look no further than In a Valley of Violence.

  Abby the Dog for best supporting actress Oscar 2017.

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  Review by adambolt ★★★★

  every time a cute dog appears in a movie this violent my stress levels rise to dangerous levels

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  Review by Dawson Joyce ★★★★½ 5

  Basically John Wick in the Old West, In a Valley of Violence is not only a terrific throwback to the spaghetti westerns of old but also writer, producer, editor, and director Ti West's best film, with great performances, strong storytelling, stylish direction, beautiful cinematography, fun characters, mounting tension, and witty dark humor.

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  Review by Jeff Morrison ★★½ 2

  2014 - John Wick: a former hitman goes on a murder spree after the son of a mob boss kills his dog

  2016 - A Valley of Violence: a former soldier goes on a murder spree after the son of a Marshal kills his dog

  2018 - Janus Vix: a former gladiator goes on a murder spree after the son of a senator kills his dog

  2020 - A Galaxy of Violence: a former space marine goes on a murder spree after the son of an underground spice merchant kills his space dog

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  Review by WraithApe ★★ 2

  Moral of the story, if you kill a man and his dog, better make sure they're both dead. Or, if two men are having a duel, don't stand there in the fucking middle of them.

  I know director Ti West for his horror films, but this is a straight up western and a pretty old school one at that. All the more surprising given that it's a Blumhouse production. It's alright I guess; kinda disappointing. I don't really know what it's shooting for. The stakes seem very low throughout the first half and don't really amp up that much in the second half, when army deserter drifter Paul (Ethan Hawke) goes back into the one-horse town of Denton to settle…

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  Review by {Todd} ★★★★ 2

  "That town back there, it's full of sinners (takes a swig of whiskey)... but they don't need saving" -Paul,

  - Ti West Ranked: boxd.it/2P3Ea

  I really, really enjoyed this grindhouse Western and that dog is the best fucking dog in any movie ever and I love it.

  Ethan Hawke is Paul, a tough ass motherfucker who people should leave alone. When people choose not to leave him alone and kill his best friend, it is revenge time in small country town. Many have said that this adds nothing new to the genre but I have 4 responses to that argument:

  (1) Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, Karen Gillam, John Travolta and James Ransone as the best whiny dude villain ever... that's…

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  Review by Ian West ★★½ 4

  Ethan Hawke, Taissa Farmiga, Karen Gillam, John Travolta, James Ransone, the patron saint of east coast indie horror—Larry Fessenden... all in a Ti West western?

  I was hoping to love this but Ti West’s bigger budgeted production came up a bit short for me, it’s decent… it looks swell , Hawke is solid as always, and it’s cool to see Travolta looking like he gives a shit, but this loses a lot of what I adore from his more modest films… those were exciting—they had a heartbeat, they had that slightly obnoxious yet enjoyable Ti West swagger as well as his distinct style via years of video store worship, and most importantly they had a fucking pulse. 

  This had very cool credits and a semi cute dog but that very rarely works on me, I’m a cat person. Bummer… thought I’d dig this more on rewatch but le sigh.

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★½ 1

  There are many things that the movies can teach us, but — at least in recent years — none have been punctuated with a bullet quite like the lesson that you should never get between a man and his dog. It didn’t work out too well for the naïve gangsters who killed Keanu Reeves’ beagle in “John Wick,” and it doesn’t work out too well for the misfit hooligans who try to do the same to Ethan Hawke’s loyal collie in Ti West’s “In a Valley of Violence.”

  READ THE FULL REVIEW ON INDIEWIRE

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  Review by matt lynch ★★

  Cute dog. I don't think this Ti West character has much going on.

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  Review by Kenneth Martin ★★★★½ 5

  An awesome Western that feels like a lost classic: it doesn't ever try to be postmodern or self-aware, it just exists as a solid Western. It's funny, it's incredibly tense, and the second half essentially plays out like a Western slasher.

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  Review by MichaelEternity ★★

  I swear I don't just like movies when they pay outlandish homage to other types of movies, but: the retro-art opening credits to this movie >>>> the actual movie that follows.

  At this point I'm starting to wonder if Ti West is an "emperor's new clothes" case. We all liked his analog '80s horror tribute "The House of the Devil", and "The Innkeepers" was about 5/8ths as effective a mood-driven slow burn chiller, and then his segment contributions to "V/H/S" and "The ABCs of Death" were pretty useless, and "The Sacrament" was only watchable thanks to the already disturbing true story being dramatized. Now "In a Valley of Violence" doesn't even have that going for it, and it's as starchy and…