Blind Horizon

Plot synopsis:
The film begins in the outskirts of rural New Mexico where an unconscious Frank Kavanaugh (Kilmer) is discovered by two local ranch hands. Suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, he is rushed to a nearby hospital in a small town called Black Point. Due to the extent of his injuries, Kavanaugh is placed in an intensive care unit under the care of a trauma nurse named Liz (Amy Smart). After regaining consciousness, Kavanaugh is interviewed by Sheriff Kolb (Shepard), however, because of his head injuries, he is unable to explain what has transpired due to a case of temporary amnesia. Given his condition, Kavanaugh is ordered to stay in the hospital for closer observation.
Much to their dismay, Sheriff Kolb and his deputies are unable to find any clues as to what might have happened to Kavanaugh. After a thorough search of the crime scene, Sheriff Kolb returns to the hospital to find that Kavanaugh, in a violent and confused state, is claiming to have knowledge of a possible assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Dr. Conway (Gil Bellows) persuades Kavanaugh to remain calm and later explains to Sheriff Kolb that his paranoia stems from a delusional side effect of the amnesia. Amongst the added confusion, Kavanaugh experiences a myriad of images that could be pure fantasy or actual pre-amnesiatic memories. The most vivid image, one in which a dark, shadowy figure is seen talking with a mysterious woman named Ms. K (Dunaway), hints at various details of a possible assassination attempt involving key government parties. However, because of Kavanaugh's deranged state, he is unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.
Sheriff Kolb believes that there is some credibility to Kavanaugh's story and continues to question him. To further complicate matters for Kavanaugh, his fiancée, Chloe (Campbell), arrives at the hospital and makes arrangements for his immediate release. It is then revealed through Chloe that she and Kavanaugh are actually from Chicago and that Kavanaugh works for the IRS. She produces documentation that verifies Kavanaugh's employment with the government, and further explains to Sheriff Kolb that she and Kavanaugh were in New Mexico on vacation. She also produces a seaside photo of Kavanaugh and herself walking on a beach as further proof that she is his fiancée. Kavanaugh still strongly believes in an imminent attempt on the President's life and later calls the US Secret Service and warns them of an assassination plot that will occur in Black Point within the next few days. Distraught over his situation, Chloe convinces Kavanaugh to leave the hospital with her, and she drives him back to the motel they had checked into a few days earlier. Incidentally, recent news updates reveal that the President and his campaign team have been touring the Southwest and will arrive in New Mexico within the next few days.
As the President arrives and prepares to address the public, Kavanaugh attempts to follow what evidence he has to warn the authorities and avert the assassination. While he views the President from a nearby building, he discovers a set of sniper's equipment, including a rifle, which he instinctively assembles. Taking aim out of the window, he sights the President through the scope of the rifle, and realizes that he, in fact, is the assassin, and that his flashbacks are of all the preparation leading up to the date of the event. He notices another assassin taking aim at the President with his sniper rifle from the other side. Understanding that he has the power to change the course of events, Kavanaugh aims at the other assassin through his scope and shoots him, killing him and averting the assassination.

Tags: flashback

Review:
I noticed a lot of people saying the plot in this movie is too complicated.
However, if you like to work things out in your mind while you watch an enjoyable storyline and deep plot; then look no further.
With names like Val Kilmer, Amy Smart, and Neve Campbell.
I enjoyed every second of this film and I think it's well worth seeing at least once to see of you agree.Performances by the cast were right on the money.
but he was highly believable and a small town sheriff.Val Kilmer was awesome in his quirky way.
The mystery unravels bits and pieces at a time; like it should and you never REALLY know for sure what's going to happen next.
"Blind Horizon", an amnesia action/mystery with some 'big name' stars, went straight to DVD without ever being theatrically released, so many have 'written it off' as a lousy film; but if you give it a chance, this is actually a very entertaining little gem!
Directed by Michael Haussman, the distributor, Lion's Gate, dissatisfied with the rambling 'director's cut', brought in ace film editor Alain Jakubowicz to punch up the film, and his re-cut gives the movie an edgy, fast-paced 'look', reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's "Memento", especially in the central portrayal of Val Kilmer's "Frank Kavanaugh".
A likable 'lost soul', shot and left to die in the desert, who knows vague details of a plot to assassinate the President, he gradually discovers he is not a 'nice' person, and is, in fact, a key player in the high-level conspiracy.
But as with Harrison Ford, in "Regarding Henry", his amnesia offers him an opportunity to 'change' his whole persona...if he can survive the attempts to silence him, and conquer his own instincts as a 'hit man'.Blessed with a first-rate cast, "Blind Horizon" offers many intriguing supporting portrayals, from a likable local sheriff (Sam Shepard), and his politically ambitious deputy (Noble Willingham), to the mysterious 'fiance' (Neve Campbell) Kavanaugh can't seem to remember, and the beautiful nurse (Amy Smart), he'd LIKE to know better, to a mysterious 'contact' (Faye Dunaway), who drifts in and out of his dreams, with missing pieces of the puzzle.
Kilmer is, as always, eminently watchable, capturing both the innocent and unsavory sides of Kavanaugh very effectively, and making his climactic actions worth waiting for.Of special note is the film score, written by the collective group of composers, Machine Head.
Working with non-traditional instruments, the 'sound' is both musical and mysterious, and ideally suits the film's ambiguity."Blind Horizon" certainly deserves a look, as a film far better than it's ill-fated history would indicate.
Both movies revolve around a magnificent representation of small town southern US, and the setting plays a huge role in both.The acting is peerless in this film, with Val Kilmer at his finest and notable supporting performances by Sam Shephard, Amy Smart and Neve Campbell.
This movie hits every right note.Val Kilmer plays Frank Kavanaugh, a man who wakes up in a border town with amnesia after being shot in the head.
The rest of the movie is Frank recalling tiny glimpses of his memory brought on by sudden triggers involving the President of the United States, scenes of violence, and mental images of people and places.
Neve Campbell plays Kilmer's suspicious wife, Amy Smart is Frank's nurse and Shephard plays the small town sheriff investigating Frank's shooting.The difference in this movie and some of the big budget Hollywood films is how they manage to capture some of the smaller scenes so right.
Incredible and has to be seen for that direction alone.If you are a fan of truly great direction on a lower budget film with grittiness, plot twists and amazing performances then look no further.
BLIND HORIZON is a smart and stylish thriller that marks two Val Kilmer back-to-back triumphs.
And then again he hits the right notes in an Emmet/Furla production, right after WONDERLAND.Hausman`s stylish and crafty direction is accompained by a smart and intriguing script about the amnesiac who realizes that he is somehow involved in the assassination plot against US president.
STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits Having sustained a head injury, Frank (Val Kilmer) awakens in hospital with nothing but a vague recollection of events that went before him and a knowing that the president will be assassinated in a small American town.
Kilmer is never usually my most enjoyable of actors, but he is impressive here and so are the supporting cast including Noble Willingham, Neve Campbell and Faye Dunaway.
Frank(Val Kilmer) is a lone man with no identity who loses his records and suffers amnesia after being wounded in the desert of New Mexico.
This not overly original plot is rather awkwardly handled by director Micheal Haussman, who makes sure that you figure out what is really happening pretty fast.
I could go on about the plot holes and inexplicable missing elements (like main character motivations!), the thin characters with no real opportunity to develop, a musical score that is off base it is almost funny, and finally a director who clearly is out of his element when not doing music videos.Note to the director: Scenes, camera movement, and music are supposed to serve the story not become the story.From reading the comments it looks like the original script had promise (I would say the ideas are interesting and might explain how they were able to attract some name actors) but the leadership of the film obviously did not have any real vision on how to bring all the elements together.An example of a real bad choice would be the constant use of Middle Eastern influenced vocalizations in a movie that is supposed to be set in Southern New Mexico.
In every major element of the film; from editing, the character choices made by the actors, the score, and the cinematography it is like they all were trying to do there own thing.
The overall atmosphere is dark, and Val Kilmer succeeds in portraying a man caught in a maze, on the verge of right and wrong and gradually finding out what is going on with him and the plot to assassinate the president, without falling on either side.
As Frank's memory gradually returns, it reveals piece by piece, the plot to assassinate the president in a small town in the middle of nowhere, doesn't emphasize on mind-games in order to surprise the audience with a surprising twist (this I consider a plus, and a rarity lately), but instead keeps up the fast paced action to the very end.
When I read the earlier ones, I was pleased to see most who took the time to add one enjoyed the movie.In short - if you're looking for mindless, gut-busting action, then this movie might strike you as a "cold, greasy scrambled egg" as one reviewer cryptically described it.If you appreciate a more thoughtful approach to plot and character construction that still delivers plenty of suspense despite its understatement, then it might perhaps be nearly as palatable as, say, a warm, non-greasy scrambled egg.It's also worth noting that Sam Shepard delivers a great performance in the film.
Although we never really know why for certain a group of people want to assassinate the president, bits and pieces can be gleaned if one listens carefully to the background news coverage playing while the action of Blind Horizon is front and center.
The main thing is that a man with a case of amnesia seems to know that a presidential assassination is to take place in a small Texas town and the president ain't even supposed to be there in his campaign for re-election.Val Kilmer plays the protagonist in Blind Horizon.
The wound was a scalp laceration and the bullet didn't penetrate, but the fall has left him with a case of amnesia and only bits and pieces of his life seem to come together.His mysterious presence has aroused the curiosity of Sam Shepard who wants to solve the mystery as he is the county sheriff and is running for re-election himself, his opponent being his own deputy Noble Willingham.Kilmer has three women in his life, a fiancé played by Neve Campbell that of course he can't recall, Amy Smart, a hospital nurse willing to put in lots of overtime to help this patient recover and Faye Dunaway who seems to drift in and out of his fragmented memories for no discernible reason.
Just who's playing on his team if Kilmer even has a team.Blind Horizon seems to borrow a lot from both Warren Beatty's The Parallax View and the Gregory Peck thriller Mirage.
Especially the Peck film, if you remember Peck was also suffering from a hysterical amnesia brought on by a traumatic event.Probably best in the cast is Sam Shepard as the small town sheriff who knows he's a small cog in things, but isn't about to let a president get himself killed in his town on his watch.The depiction of a small town in Texas is one of the best we've seen since Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show.
Blind Horizon might be worth a look and it's a shame that a lot of critics dismissed it the first time around..
Blind Horizon makes two mistakes, that are often typical of the thriller genre: a) the plot is convoluted and b) is comes with a conventional third act twist which is predictable.
This, and maybe one too make artsy montages taking up screen time, keeps Blind Horizon far from the level of greatness, but then again, it's kind of a B-movie.
He does not know who will be committing this heinous crime, but he is desperate to get some answers.The film is directed with a good level of subtlety.
It doesn't really require paying much attention in order to see where the film is going, and the implication given the way the answers are revealed in act three suggests that we are meant to be surprised, (then again maybe not, could the makers be this dumb?)Blind Horizon, does not amount to a whole heck of a lot, but I enjoyed it.
I don't think I would have enjoyed this film as much if I hadn't been sick after 2 days of hard work with my performance troupe (long story!).I love Amy Smart & Neve Campbell.
Then like a stubborn employee, the brain begins a single, but constant 24 hour task of re-routing or re-connecting neurons to standard questions, like, 'who am I?' In this movie, " Blind Horizon " we have a character named Frank Kavanaugh (Val Kilmer) who is near dead in a hospital answering questions to town Sheriff Jack Kolb (Sam Shepard) and his Deputy Shirl Cash (Noble Willingham).
Like 'The Package' this film does use the JFK assassination as a reference point but it uses it in very small pieces so that you have to think about them as parts of a difficult puzzle.
Looking forward to more good films by the talented people involved..
I'll bet you no one in this film from the talented Sam Shepard to the pretty good Neve Campbell to the deservedly up and coming Amy Smart ever want to work with the guy again.
A man gets shot, wakes up from a coma suffering total memoryloss.He tries to figure out who he is and why he feels that the presidents life is in danger.
The beginning of the film gives it all away.A couple of decent acting performances here, but nothing out of the ordinary - then again, with a script like this....you know...Just another time waster that prooves that the Hollywood money machine won the battle against decent scripts.
A good thriller is one that makes you wonder all the time of what direction the movie will go next.
It's not a bad plot, quite the contrary, but the details are a bit off most of the time.About Val Kilmer, he again makes a great role.
I don't think he will go far if he ends up with that label.Faye Dunnaway, Neve Campbell and some other actors that you have seen in movies and expect them to be in good roles are actually quite the secondary characters; except Val Kilmer and the basic plot, everything else is a blur.The atmosphere is good, as the movie is set up in a dusty western town and the music is appropriate.
I think this is a good film to watch, not an extraordinary one, though, so don't get your hopes too high.
Val Kilmer is involved in a plot to assassinate the president and for some reason is shot by the plotters to get him out of the way.
Val Kilmer was perfect for the role and was convincing as someone with amnesia.
Amy Smart was great as a sweet nurse and Sam Shepard was very good as sheriff of the border town.
The amnesia plot is something that has been done ad nauseam and adds nothing to this movie.Val Kilmer's character is an enigma from beginning to end.
Amy Smart and Sam Shepard don't have great opportunities to shine..
I dutifully expected a weak and predictable plot and an average Hollywood thriller.
There isn't much that Neve Campbell (Scream, Wild Things) can do that isn't worth watching, even a straight-to-video thriller like this.Val Kilmer (Heat, batman Forever) plays an amnesiac that has brief glimpses of a Presidential Assignation.
Shepard is always worth watching and gives a very good performance here..
The acting is OK, though one would expect bit more from Val Kilmer, all he does is walking around the town, and mumbling things he remembers.
Neve Campbell proves again to be an average actress.The plot is very predictable, no real twists or surprises.
I agree with some reviewers that the amnesia thing has been done ad nauseum, but I did feel the filming probably portrayed an accurate feeling of trying to regain memories.
It has interesting elements, but the director went for style over substance, using a lot of quick cuts and disjointed flashbacks.Frank (Val Kilmer) is found shot and nearly dead in a Texas border town.
He's lost his memory and does not recognize the young woman (Neve Campbell) who shows up and says she's his fiancé.Frank keeps having flashbacks of various things, often violence, and has the feeling that he knows something he shouldn't.
He finally reports to the sheriff (Sam Shepherd) that he thinks the President is going to be assassinated, but he doesn't know how he knows that.
The place is a truck stop and while the President is going through the area shoring up votes, he's not coming to the town.Blind Horizon was deliberately obscure - it's not a hard plot to follow, but it's obvious the director wanted us to think it was a lot more complicated.
"Left for dead in the remote Southwest, Frank (Val Kilmer) is found clinging to life and in a state of amnesia.
Mysterious girlfriend Neve Campbell (as Chloe Richards) and nursing blonde Amy Smart (as Liz Culpepper) are very beautiful and director Michael Haussman's slithery style carries some excitement, when the women are not on screen.**** Blind Horizon (12/16/03) Michael Haussman ~ Val Kilmer, Neve Campbell, Sam Shepard, Amy Smart.
In this sort of complex thriller, I would like to come away feeling that it all became clear in the end..
Maybe not Campbell, but Kilmer is at an age where he cant risk to play in these silly movies anymore.
I have to say that Val Kilmer is quite possibly the only person on the planet who still manages to looks mind-numbingly handsome while wearing one of those ridiculous green hospital gowns, and this is a good thing - it's not good enough, of course, to make this shamelessly heavy-handed piece of claptrap anything but mind-numbingly ridiculous, from beginning to end.
The biggest problem is the script, which leaves nothing to the imagination; I had the entire plot figured out by the time -=- SPOILER ALERT -=- Neve Campbelll shows up trying to pass as Kilmer's fiancée; anyone with half a brain who has seen his/her share of movies knows instantly that she is not, and it's not too much of a jump to figure out that HE's the potential assassin.
To give you an example of how heavy-handed this film is, there's actually a scene where Kilmer's stopped slugging down tequila like he's Doc Holliday and is finally putting the pieces together, while there's a delightfully subtle clock ticking in the background, just to remind us that time, indeed, is running out.Don't get me wrong, Kilmer's superb acting and dazzling charm do go a long way, of course, make no mistake, and that's worth something: a 4, which is my IMDb rating for this lost Horizon..
But bits and pieces of Frank's memory returns and he starts to make outrageous claims that the president will come to the little town, and that someone wants to assassinate him.
After that strange things and strange people turns up and especially one cute nurse gets Frank's attention.Comments: A good story but an average and pretty ordinary thriller.
Val Kilmer stars but also gets very good support from Amy Smart and Neve Campbell, but maybe especially Sam Shepard.
Almost from the very beginning it is clear how it is going to end, and the movie confirms these predictions step by step.So even if the story is good, albeit a little full of clichés, the cast is good, both Kilmer and Smart are underrated, it turns out to be just average.
Most of the other reviewers have said it all, I just want to make sure that there are enough comments on here to warn you away from wasting your time with this movie.
at the end of the movie he gives up his assassin life for a woman he met very briefly.
For the people who keep commenting that this movie was so predictable it's probably not from deja vu.
a few hours after watching , I was still wondering about Amy Smart (Nurse LIZ) telling 'Frank' that her BROTHER looked out for her .....