The Country Beyond: A bit of a slog through the snow

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s B-movies with guys in crisp uniforms walking around fake-looking snowy sets. If you need snappy dialogue or something that moves fast, stay away. It is perfect for people who like their cinema to feel like a faded photograph found in a shoebox.

The whole thing hangs on this Mountie who has to arrest his girlfriend's father. It is the classic 'duty versus love' dilemma, but served up without much flavor. Rochelle Hudson is doing her best, but the script gives her very little room to breathe.

The sets are... something else. You can practically hear the cardboard crunching under their boots in the outdoor scenes. It reminds me of the shaky staging in The Iron Horse, but without the sweeping scale to back it up.

Odd bits and pieces

• The dog, Buck, honestly gives a better performance than half the human cast. He seems to know exactly where the camera is.
• The dialogue is so stiff you could use it to build a log cabin.
• There is a scene near the middle where a character stands by a tree for way too long just looking ominous. It is unintentionally hilarious.
• The way they handle the 'theft' plot point feels like they just needed an excuse to get people running through the woods.

There is this moment where the Mountie is debating his next move and the lighting changes so drastically it looks like he stepped into a different movie entirely. It felt like the film editor just gave up halfway through the reel. 🤷‍♂️

I found myself comparing it to the pacing of The Cyclone Cowboy, though that one at least had the decency to be a bit more fun with its clichés. This one just lumbers along like a tired horse.

If you watch it, do not expect a masterpiece. It is just a dusty, creaky relic of a time when Hollywood churned these things out every Tuesday. Grab a coffee, maybe fold some laundry while it plays. You won't miss much if you look away for ten minutes to check your phone.