Hostile Territory (2022)

Brian Presley is Jack Calgrove, a Union officer presumed dead, but really captured during the Civil War.

When he returns home after the war, he learns his wife has died and his three youngest children have been put on an orphan train bound for Independence, Missouri.

They’re to be reunited with Jack’s oldest son, Phil, who was wounded in the war, but survived. He’s been reassigned to Montana, where the Army is trying to tamp down Indian hostilities.

Phil’s plan is to take his three siblings West with him to start a new life there on land given him by the government.

By the time he leaves, he’s been joined by a whore (Brianna Elias at Ingrid) looking for a new life too and a group of orphans no one signed up to adopt.

Fearful because they’ll be traveling through hostile territory just after a bitter war, Jack Calgrove sets out in desperate pursuit of children who believe he’s dead.

He has a large contingent of his own, including a black fellow comrade, a freed slave who wants to recover her daughter and a band of Native American sharpshooters.

With the Cheyenne on the warpath, Jack’s concerns prove well founded.

Brian Presley as Jack Calgrove, a former Union officer desperately trying to catch up with his children in Hostile Territory (2022)

Cooper North as Phil Calgrove, hoping for a peaceful path through Cheyenne territory in Hostile Territory (2022)

Review:

A decent idea, above-average acting for a low-budget film and fine cinematography should have added up to a better movie.

And that’s disappointing, because some of the scenes here are downright touching, including the reunion of Phil Calgrove with his siblings and Ingrid’s hope that tagging along with the reunited family will mean a happier life for her.

But Jack Calgrove’s desperate chase of his children seems illogical and much of the action that takes place during that chase seems like contrived nonsense.

Apaches attack him in Missouri? Ex-Rebels assault a former slave, attempting to rape her, just moments after passing Calgrove and his companion — both armed — on the road?

And wasn’t there a telegraph in 1865? Wasn’t Independence, Missouri, a major stop on the war West? Couldn’t Calgrove send a message that he was alive and well and on his way?

The film’s plausibility is also stretched to the breaking point by political correctness. For instance, at the end of the attack on the Cheyenne village, there’s the equivalent of a group hug seem that just makes no damn sense at all.

Worth a watch because it’s better than most Westerns being released in the 2020s. But is should have been so much better.

Brianna Elias as Ingrid, the saloon girl looking for a new path and a new dream in Hostile Territory (2022)

Jackson Presley as Charlie Calgrove, on the orphan train in Hostile Territory (2022)

Directed by:
Brian Presley

Cast:
Brian Presley … Jack Calgrove
Cooper North … Phil Calgrove
Jackson Presley … Charlie Calgrove
Emma Presley … Lizzy Calgrove
Ruby Presley … Lilly Calgrove
Brianna Elias … Ingrid
Craig Tate … Desmond Richards
Daelyanna Kelly Benson … Mary Beggs
Natalie Whittle … Alice Beggs
Lyndell Chee … Shantu
Matt McCoy … Andrew Lee
Brad Leland … Frank Smith
Brea Bee … Sarah
Law Tample … Daniel Glenn
Emily Shenaut … Esther
Tom Dragt … Sammy O’Hagen
Lorna Larkin … Mildred
Timothy Patrick Cavanaugh … Edward Pagan
Scott L. Perez … Charles Stanton

Runtime: 94 min.

aka:
The Orphan Train

Craig Tate as Desmond Richards, the former comrade in arms who accompanies Jack Calgrove on his search in Hostile Territory (2022)

Natalie Whittle as Alice Beggs, hoping for a reunion with her daughter Mary in Hostile Territory (2022)

Memorable lines:

Ingrid: “I had stopped believing in goodness, until the night we met. From that night on, I started thinking maybe there’s another way for me. Maybe with these children, I could be worth something.”

Jack Calgrove: “I’m gonna get your daughter back, Mrs. Beggs. And I’m gonna find my children. Nothing’s gonna stop me. Nothing.”

Emma Presley as Lizzy Calgrove, Jack Calgrove’s oldest daughter in Hostile Territory (2022)

Ruby Presley as Lilly Calgrove, stunned into silence by her parents’ deaths in Hostile Territory (2022)

Lyndell Chee as Shantu, leader of the native American sharpshooters in Hostile Territory (2022)

Brad Leland as Frank Smith, organizer of the orphan train in Hostile Territory (2022)