History Film / SeraphimFalls

* MagicalNativeAmerican: When the film veers into MagicalRealism in the third act, a Native American man played by Wes Studi appears to each of the two main characters by a water hole in the middle of a barren desert. He trades Pierce Brosnan's character some water for the horse that Brosnan had stolen from Liam Neeson, then gives Neeson the horse for free. When Neeson gives him money anyway, he discards the coins. His name is listed as Charon in the credits, and the film suggests that he's a demon who is engineering a final confrontation between the two nemeses.

* OnlySaneMan: Parsons for the manhunters (at least after [spoiler: the Kid]]. dies) and Cousin Bill to the three bank robber.

* StrawMisogynist: Hayes is either this or a {{Troll} when he tells The Kid (whose writing a letter) that wife is spelled w-h-o-r-e, and that a woman won’t ever be yours unless you pay her for the night.

* SeamlessSpontaneousLie: the homesteader family lying to Carver and his men that Gideon stole their horse and that the gold Carver's men found was stolen from them (ironically, their son did steal some gold after scoping through Gideon's things, but it apparently remains unfound while the actual gold that they find is what Gideon paid his father) and they buy it and leave the family unharmed.

* GenreSavvy: Cousin Bill knows not to fight Gideon, who he saw go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge in TheCivilWar after losing his son on a battlefield. Earlier, the homesteader father realizes Gideon is being chased because he’s willing to pay so much for a horse now rather than walk to town.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Hayes shows disgust at what Gideon did to his horse [[spoiler: right before Gideon ambushes them by bursting out of the carcass]].

* RapeIsA specialKindOfEvil: Hayes doesn’t actually rape anyone, but is clearly interested in the prospect of it when the trackers stop at the homesteaders cabin.

* ResignationsAreNotAccepted: downplayed, Carver shoots [[spoiler: Parsons]]. horse when he quits the hunt, leaving him to either walk back to civilization with nothing to show for it or likely die in the desert, especially if he tries to [[spoiler: take the body of the bank robber with him for the bounty]].

* FiveBadBand: The trackers, in a way. Carver is the BigBad with Hayes as his Dragon. Parsons, having more experience than the others, is TheEvilGenius; Pope is arguably TheBrute with the Kid acting as TheDarkChick.

* CrapsackWorld: The Wild West is mostly shown as this, and Carver believes everywhere else is the same. “Nobody can protect nobody in this world.”

* DealWithTheDevil: Both characters end up making deals with someone who very well may be the literal Devil, aka [[spoiler: Madame Louise]]. Both trade something that would make it easier for them to survive (Gideon's horse, Carver's water) for something that will perpetuate their feud ( a bullet for Gideon, a gun for Carver).

* InevitableWaterfall: Pretty much right at the beginning.

* TitleDrop

* KnifeNut: Gideon’s weapon of choice is a massive Bowie knife. He also uses it for a variety of non-combat survival purposes, as soldiers are trained to do.

* BadassBeard: Gideon.
* BadassLongcoat: Carver.

An unknown event during the final days of the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar has made captain Gideon, who fought for the Union, the arch-enemy of ex-Confederate colonel Carver. Now Carver is out for revenge. He’s gathered a team of mercenary trackers and they’ve managed to pick up Gideon’s trail. However, at first Gideon doesn’t actually know why he is being chased; the viewer follows his struggle to stay alive as he begins to understand what horrible part of his past has come to haunt him.

* {{Badass}}: Gideon. He told you to leave him be.

* BadassPreacher: the priest of the religious settlers claims that the scar in his neck is from a gunfight with Mormons. Which he won.

* ColonelBadass / RetiredBadass: both main characters appear to have been war heroes for their respective sides. Gideon in particular has a legendary reputation – he is said to have once [[OneManArmy killed a hundred men in a single battle]].

* CrapsackWorld: the Wild West is mostly shown as this, and Carver believes everywhere else is the same. “Nobody can protect nobody in this world.”
* {{Determinator}}: again, both of the main characters. The entire plot is a show of just how determined they are.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: probably. The ending is ambiguous.
* DealWithTheDevil: both characters end up making deals with someone who very well may be the literal Devil, aka [[spoiler: Madame Louise]]. Both trade something that would make it easier for them to survive (Gideon's horse, Carver's water) for something that will perpetuate their feud ( a bullet for Gideon, a gun for Carver).

* FiveBadBand: the trackers, in a way. Carver is the BigBad with Hayes as his Dragon. Parsons, having more experience than the others, is TheEvilGenius; Pope is arguably TheBrute with the Kid acting as TheDarkChick.
* InevitableWaterfall: pretty much right at the beginning.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: very much so. Carver’s thirst for revenge seems justified, but his [[ItsAllAboutMe utter ruthlessness]] and [[{{Determinator}} stubborn conviction]] make his righteousness a matter of opinion. Gideon is introduced as a helpless victim, but we gradually realize that he’s a little too good at killing people, and then we learn [[ItsPersonal what he (kind of) did to Carver]].

* OnlyAFleshWound: horribly averted. In the first scene, Gideon is shot in the arm; he suffers from the wound for the entire duration of the movie, and Carver uses this to his advantage when they get down to GoodOldFisticuffs.

* PunchClockVillain: the trackers. They become more and more reluctant to serve Carver as they discover how dangerous their prey is. He keeps them on his side by renegotiating their pay several times and denying them a way out of the hunt.

* RevengeBeforeReason: after Hayes dies, Gideon rides off into the desert and certain death. Carver ''still goes after him.''

* SceneryPorn: and lots of it.

* AntiHero / AntiVillain: Gideon and Carver. Or Carver and Gideon, due to GreyAndGrayMorality.

* DuelingStarsMovie: The main appeal of the film is the showdown between Creator/PierceBrosnan and Creator/LiamNeeson, two greatly respected Irish actors.
* FakeAmerican: Both Brosnan and Neeson are Irishmen playing Americans. Amusing when both separately encounter an Irish foreman of a railroad construction crew, played by the American Xander Berkeley, and Gideon taunts one of his (American) underlings by calling him "Paddy Boy"

An unknown event during the final days of the {{American Civil War}} has made captain Gideon, who fought for the Union, the arch-enemy of ex-Confederate colonel Carver. Now Carver is out for revenge. He’s gathered a team of mercenary trackers and they’ve managed to pick up Gideon’s trail. However, at first Gideon doesn’t actually know why he is being chased; the viewer follows his struggle to stay alive as he begins to understand what horrible part of his past has come to haunt him.

->''"[[Creator/{{Plato}} Only the dead know the end of war.]]"''
-->-- '''Carver'''

* {{Satan}}: Madame Louise’s full name is written on the back of her wagon: [[LouisCypher Louise C. Fair]].

* LouCypher

->''"[[Creator/{{Plato}} Only the dead can know the end of war]], Captain."''

!This film provides examples of:

->''[[Creator/{{Plato}} Only the dead can know the end of war]], Captain.''

A 2006 cult western which boils down to 90 minutes of {{Liam Neeson}} chasing Pierce Brosnan across the wilder parts of Nevada.

!!This film provides examples of:

* KnifeNut: Gideon’s weapon of choice is a [[strike:large combat]] massive Bowie knife. He also uses it for a variety of non-combat survival purposes, as soldiers are trained to do.