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Outlaws and Angels Review

By David Kempler

Where Are The Angels?

It's an old-style bank robbery in the wild West that begins with the actual robbery, and it's a brutal one. Afterwards, Henry (Chad Michael Murray) leads the gang on their run from the usual hell-bent posse. It's one in a string of robberies by this bunch and it's immediately clear that no one in this gang is going to turn out to be a good guy who is just misunderstood.

The posse is led by Josiah (Luke Wilson) and on their chase and on their travels they meet people who have fallen victim to the gang as well as some witnesses. Their chase leads them further into the wilderness. Meanwhile, Henry takes his gang of ne'er-do-wells to a remote farm, hoping for some down time to plan their next move.

The farm is occupied by George (Ben Browder), his especially religious wife, Ada (Teri Polo), and their daughters Florence (Francesca Eastwood) and Charlotte (Madisen Beaty). When Henry leads the boys into the farm, the violence of the bank robbery is repeated in the brutality they show to the farmer's family.

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Blood flows early and in buckets, with George experiencing the brunt of the abuse. Everything that goes on inside the cabin has an edge of impending danger. Are the three women in danger of rape? That's the direction writer/director J. T. Mollner points the audience, as each woman is assigned to one of the outlaws. But there is another undercurrent at work in the cabin. The farmer's family also has secrets and behavioral issues that eventually get revealed. Florence is particularly of interest, with a very spacey outlook in her eyes. Henry is most intrigued by her and Florence, shockingly seems quite happy with his attention.

George and Charlotte are treated horrifically. The religious Ada is raped and yet it's not entirely clear if Ada herself regards this as a good or bad event. Henry and Florence become lovers and she joins the murderous group. Where it goes from here involves some real plot twisting, with some twists seeming possible, while others ring a bit too far-fetched. The fairly surprising ending may leave you questioning it all, and it will probably cloud your opinion on just who are the outlaws, and who are the angels.

What did you think?

Movie title Outlaws and Angels
Release year 2016
MPAA Rating R
Our rating
Summary A brutal bank robbery in the old West leads to a farmer's family being tortured, and that's where things start to get a bit strange.
View all articles by David Kempler
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