Trails of Treachery Review: A Dusty, Messy Silent Western

Look, if you aren't into silent movies where the film stock looks like it was washed in a bucket of sand, just skip this one.

It’s really only for the people who want to see every single frame Fred Church ever stood in front of. Most people will find it boring as hell, honestly.

The plot is basically right there in the title. Fred Church plays a guy who gets done dirty by some 'friends' and has to ride a horse really fast to fix it. 🐎

There’s a scene early on where a guy is leaning against a fence and he looks like he’s actually falling asleep. I don't blame him.

I noticed the makeup on Margaret Earl is super heavy. It makes her look like a ghost in some of the outdoor shots, which is kind of creepy if you think about it too much.

The editing is... well, it's a Robert J. Horner movie. He wasn't exactly known for being careful with his cuts.

Sometimes a character will be on one side of the screen and then poof, they're on the other side in the next shot. It's like they have teleportation powers they only use when the camera isn't looking.

It reminds me a bit of The Warning Signal but with way less focus on actually telling a story. It feels more like a collection of clips of people looking worried near rocks.

There is a dog in one scene that seems much more interested in a bug on the ground than the actual drama happening. I spent like three minutes just watching that dog instead of the actors.

The "treachery" part of the movie happens so fast you might miss it if you blink or look at your phone. One title card even has a typo in it, I think. It says "the" twice in a row.

It’s charming in a way that modern movies just can't be, even if it’s objectively not a "good" movie by any standard. There is something nice about how simple it is.

I’ve seen better stuff from this era, like maybe Hot Heels if you want more energy. But Church has this weirdly intense stare that keeps you watching.

He looks like he’s trying to remember his grocery list while being shot at. It's actually kind of impressive how he keeps a straight face through the whole thing.

The ending is very abrupt. Like, the movie just gets tired of existing and stops right when things might have gotten interesting.

If you like dusty hills and watching horses run in circles, give it a go. Otherwise, maybe go watch Alexander Hamilton instead if you want something with actual talking.