In a Valley of Violence | Rotten Tomatoes

In a Valley of Violence

R

Released Oct 21, 2016

1 hr. 44 min.

Western

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List

78%

73 Reviews

Tomatometer

51%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A mysterious drifter (Ethan Hawke) and his dog journey toward Mexico through the barren desert of the Old West. Hoping to shorten their trip, they cut through a large valley, landing in the forgotten town of Denton -- a place now known as a valley of violence. The once-popular mining town is nearly abandoned and controlled by a group of misfits and nitwits, including the seemingly untouchable Gilly (James Ransone), the troublemaking son of the town's difficult marshal.

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Critics Consensus

In a Valley of Violence offers a smartly conceived homage to classic Westerns that transcends pastiche with absurdist humor and a terrific cast.

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Gero C

In simple words, a waste of time. Boring and with irritating characters, waste of stars like John Travolta and Ethan Hawke and a predictable but bloody plot.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Chuck Houck C

Another stand-out Ethan Hawke performance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Dandy C

Very good and entertaining neo-Western movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

B J

100% agree with the critics consensus. I don't understand the low audience ratings. It's an affectionate and humorous homage to the great American movie genre: westerns. It's thoroughly entertaining, especially if viewed through that lens.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

Full Review

Rocky L

Pretty good, like Ethan Hawk and Travolta. Good story and was entertaining

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/25/23

Full Review

Aaron S

I'm slowly coming around to the appeal of Ti West. While I've generally liked his movies, I think this one really hammered home what he's trying to do as a film maker. He's very good at making genre films that largely stick to their formula but have small branching elements like dark humor, tongue in cheek critiques, and overemphasized genre tropes. For instance, toward the beginning of In a Valley of Violence, I was a little confused by the acting as it's over the top and could be considered poor, but what I think is actually going on is West is employing hyper contextualized tropes of westerns like helpless damsels and paper thin revenge narratives. None of this is to say this is perfect or even one of the great modern westerns, but it sure is a lot of fun. It feels like West is trying to make one of the pulpy westerns that inspired Tarantino and for the most part, it works quite well.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/02/23

Full Review

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Ti West

Director

Ethan Hawke

Paul

John Travolta

Marshal

Taissa Farmiga

Mary-Anne

James Ransone

Gilly

Karen Gillan

Ellen

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In a Valley of Violence: Trailer 1

2:13

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Stephanie Zacharek

TIME Magazine

West, making his first foray into westerns, doesn't control the tone. Its somber, bone-dry gruffness crumbles to dust, only to be replaced by adolescent jokiness.

Oct 27, 2016

Full Review

Joe McGovern

Entertainment Weekly

Announces itself as an unabashed B-movie from its pre-credits scene ... and never worries itself about being anything deeper than that.

Rated: B

Oct 24, 2016

Full Review

Sheila O'Malley

RogerEbert.com

In a Valley of Violence does not take itself too seriously (a great asset), but it also takes itself just seriously enough that it's not empty snarky parody.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 21, 2016

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

All you need is the right catalyst of motivated vengeance and a good filmmaker guides the tumbleweeds, spurs, bullets, and trigger-happy tempers to take it from there.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 4, 2023

Full Review

Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Thanks to its cast, In a Valley of Violence gives audiences an entertaining revenge thriller set in the Old West, which showcases Ti West's restraint and subtlety.

Rated: 3/5

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

West and company (wisely) never take their movie too seriously. Even when it’s moving by the numbers, it remains quirky enough to feel slightly off-center.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A mysterious drifter (Ethan Hawke) and his dog journey toward Mexico through the barren desert of the Old West. Hoping to shorten their trip, they cut through a large valley, landing in the forgotten town of Denton -- a place now known as a valley of violence. The once-popular mining town is nearly abandoned and controlled by a group of misfits and nitwits, including the seemingly untouchable Gilly (James Ransone), the troublemaking son of the town's difficult marshal.

Director: Ti West
Executive Producer: Alix Taylor, Jeanette Volturno, Ti West
Screenwriter: Ti West
Distributor: Focus World
Production Co: Focus Features, Glass Eye Pix, Blumhouse Productions
Rating: R (Violence and Language)
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $50.4K

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