Shadow Land Review – An Entertaining, Mind-bending, Suspense Thriller

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Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Thursday, 06 June 2024 15:44

Written by Janet Walker

Shadow Land, from Republic Pictures, presents a mind-bending psychological, suspense thriller, as a former president is haunted by memories of a military engagement that cost him his reputation, making many believe he is losing his mind.

The film opens with a shadowy figure walking through a darkened home, holding a hunting knife. His intent is clear. He walks up the stairs and stands in the hallway. The man in the bedroom jumps up and fires his shotgun, the intruder is killed.

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Immediately the sleeping man, played by Jon Voight, wakes. He walks to the hallway. There is no one there. He walks to the window and sees the same shadowy figure standing outside the parameter of his property. He grabs the shotgun and makes his way to the barn. We see movement and suddenly we hear two men shouting.

The man, we find out, is former President Robert Wainright, under the protection of the Secret Service Agent Brent Cahill, played by Philip Winchester. Unsure how he ended up in the barn, his confusion is causing many to believe he is experiencing the onset of early dementia.

He is haunted by a single moment in his presidency, when, based on bad intel, he deployed soldiers into a volatile nation. While the intention was honorable, the outcome was a debacle and cost him his legacy.

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We see he is working on his memoir and reviewing his old speeches, and with each viewing the memories of the day return. The decision to send troops into a region when all intel supported that the nation had managed to build a nuclear facility and could begin producing the components to build a nuclear weapon within a week, was made as his two top advisors debated on the validity of the images. His military general needed a go-no go; and his Secretary of State, Jasper Barnes, played by Sean Maguire, advocated for one more week.

By this point, the audience believes there is clearly something that is causing his tormenting dreams, and directly contributes to his inability to sleep. Former Secretary of State Barnes still visits and this morning, he suggests calling in Elliot Davrow, played by Marton Csokas, who may be able to help him sort out the dreams.

Once the two meet, we are transported into the dream images of this nightmare that resulted from the military raid. The president is sure the dreams are a foretelling of a future event, and he believes someone is trying to kill him or poison him, all of which, if it were coming from a different person would be labeled delusional.

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As the pieces unfold, we slowly see signs of something more sinister, a darker element more dangerous than the nightmares could have foretold.  

A suspense thriller, Shadow Land highlights the undercurrent of contemporary society, as the truth reveals misplaced loyalties resulting in personal protests that run counter to commitments, girded by deep, corrupt beliefs. The ensemble not only delivers credible performances, but projects the undercurrent, the cult commitment to a cause, which makes this film unnervingly authentic.

Shadow Land, a sinister psychological mystery, is available to stream. See it.

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Country: U.S. 

Language: English.

Director: James Bamford.                     

Writer:  Ian Corson.

Producer:  Steven Paul. 

Executive Producer: Scott Karol, Kyle Otto.

Cast: Jon Voight, Marton Csokas, Rhona Mitra, Philip Winchester, Sean Maguire.