LASSO (2017) Reviews and overview

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‘Fear is only the beginning’
Lasso is a 2017 American horror film directed by Evan Cecil from a screenplay by Roberto Marinas. The Dragonfly Films production stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Lindsey Morgan and Andrew Jacobs.

Plot:
Simon and Kit, two young leaders of an active senior tour group, out on an adventure to a small-town Rodeo festival located deep in the woods. It’s a great experience for the group… until they try to leave.

Simon and Kit must save themselves, and whatever seniors they can, from becoming victims of a deadly rodeo ritual. Together the group must fight to survive the night from relentless bloodthirsty cowboys on the hunt for human livestock…

Reviews:
“If you like gore, you won’t leave this one disappointed. However, there is almost zero character development, Simon is one of the most annoying heroes ever as he botches plan after plan, and the most interesting characters tend to be killed early on.” Cinema 365

“Outside of its setting, Lasso misses out on unique meat to make it more than a meager slasher, creating a conundrum involving why anyone elected to fund a rather run-of-the-mill indie. Based on the unappealing aesthetic, superficial story, and charmless horror, the bigger question asks, why should viewers be excited about Lasso?” Culture Crypt

Lasso is incredible fun. It’s scary, it’s gory and it’s utterly compelling. If you take the film for what it is – a violent rollercoaster of a horror film – you’ll absolutely love it. Had the script been a bit tighter, the film would have been even better…” Entertainment Focus

“Given the western theme, this is no simple slice n’ dice shocker – there comes a moment when our heroes have had enough and have gotta do what they’ve gotta do […] Lasso isn’t a film that you should go into expecting depth or layers of meaning. It’s aiming to please a very specific audience, however, and it does that well, with a mixture of inventive brutality and unlikely comedy…” Eye for Film

“It will win no awards for originality but you sense that was never really the intention. Flannery and Morgan equip themselves well considering the material on offer, but ultimately Lasso only ever really gets the job done rather than setting the world alight.” Flickering Myth

“A film made for gorehounds, there is so much gory injury detail on display. There’s also an abundance of outlandishly painful deaths. Branding, electric shocks, and stretching are just the tip of the iceberg. Director Evan Cecil throws everything into Lasso, and whilst the narrative of the film falters, as a blood driven slasher film, it succeeds in spades.” The Hollywood News

“If ever a film wanted that in-depth cameo casting for villains, this is it – but we just get a bunch of characterless stuntmen joylessly going through the business of slaughtering tourists in rope- or Western-related fashion. It doesn’t even try for the kind of creepy, end-of-the-West ghost town vibe found in films like Curse of the Headless Horseman or Revenge of Bloody Bill…The Kim Newman Web Site

“While a lot of the movie is left unexplained, I likened what was happening to the unlucky victims to how the animals in a rodeo are treated. They’re poked, prodded, electrocuted, branded and, should one die, it’s dumped elsewhere and forgotten […] The gore is excessive and the kills are entertaining.” Pop Horror

” …Cecil’s film is less interested in establishing strong characters, compelling dialogue or a remotely credible scenario than in bringing together an arbitrary series of ranch-flavoured murder set-pieces. Simon’s boy-to-man story arc under Ennis’ paternal tutelage may be central, but is never particularly engaging, and, to put it reductively, the best reason to watch Lasso is for the grotesque, gory kills…” Projected Figures

Release:
Epic Pictures’ specialist label Dread Central Presents released Lasso on November 13, 2018.

Main cast:
Sean Patrick Flanery … Ennis – Howlers; The Evil Within; Saw 3D; et al
Lindsey Morgan … Kit – Chastity Bites
Andrew Jacobs … Simon – Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Karen Grassle … Lillian
Thomas Cokenias … Hacket
Benedita Pereira … The Underground Woman
Travis Andre Ross … Brodeo
Morgan Benoit … Prodder
Tim Lajcik … Noose

Technical details:
1 hour 37 minutes
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

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