Forbidden Trail Review: Jack Hoxie is a Unit

You should watch this today if you are the kind of person who misses the smell of old paper. Or if you just really like Jack Hoxie.

If you need things to blow up in 4K or people to talk constantly, stay away. This movie is silent and it knows it.

It's basically just a guy and his horse against a world that looks like it hasn't seen a drop of rain since the dinosaurs died.

Jack Hoxie is the main guy here. He doesn't act with his face so much as he acts with his entire bulk.

He is a big man. When he sits on a horse, you kind of feel bad for the horse, but the horse seems to be doing okay.

The plot is about a trail. It's forbidden.

I mean, the title says it right there. But the forbidden part is mostly just an excuse to have people glare at each other from under their hats.

I noticed this one guy in the background during the town scene. He is just leaning against a post for like three minutes.

He looks like he’s actually falling asleep. I wonder if they paid him in sandwiches.

The action is actually pretty good for 1923. There is a chase that feels like it’s going about 5 miles per hour, but they make it look intense.

The camera just sits there and lets the horses run past. It feels like you are standing in the dirt with them.

I think I got actual dust in my eyes just watching the screen.

Compared to something like A Virgin Paradise, this is much more grounded. It doesn't try to be fancy.

It's just a western. It doesn't pretend to be a deep poem about the soul.

There is a lot of staring. Like, a lot.

The intertitles—those black screens with text—are kinda dramatic. They use words like "varmint" and talk about honor.

Sometimes the text stays on screen for so long I had time to check my phone. That's just how these old movies go.

Hoxie has this way of jumping onto his horse that is genuinely impressive. He doesn't use the little step thing.

He just boings up there. It’s the highlight of the movie honestly.

The bad guys are very easy to spot. They have the darkest hats and they look like they haven't washed their hands in years.

One of them has a mustache that looks like a tired caterpillar. I couldn't stop looking at it.

I think the movie gets better once the actual trail part starts. The town stuff is a bit slow.

It reminds me a bit of His Own Law, but with more dirt.

The scenery is just rocks and more rocks. I think they might have used the same big rock for three different locations.

If you look closely at the shadows, they change positions in the middle of a scene. The sun was moving faster than the actors.

I like that the movie doesn't try to be perfect. It feels like a group of guys went out into the desert and just filmed what happened.

There is a dog in one scene. It’s a good dog.

It doesn't do anything for the plot. It just sits there.

I appreciate that. Movies today always make the dog do something heroic.

In 1923, a dog could just be a dog.

If you want a laugh, watch the way they fall down when they get shot. They do this weird spin.

It looks like they are trying to dance and die at the same time. It’s beautiful in a weird way.

The ending is very sudden. It just kind of stops.

You get the feeling the film roll was running out and they had to wrap it up fast.

But hey, Jack Hoxie wins. Obviously.

He rides off and you feel like the world is a little bit safer from people with caterpillar mustaches.

It’s not as funny as The Strong Man. That one has more jokes.

This is for when you want to feel tough. Or when you want to see what people thought was cool 100 years ago.

I think they were right. Horses are cool.

Hoxie’s hat is way too big for his head though. It keeps wobbling.

I spent five minutes wondering if it would fall off during the fight. It didn't.

That’s the real movie magic right there.

Anyway, it’s a solid way to spend an hour if you have some patience.

Just don't expect it to change your life. It’s just a trail.

And it's forbidden. But only a little bit. 🌵