American Primeval 2025

Now streaming on Netflix this might be the most violent series I've ever seen. Loosely Based on fact the story is placed in the Utah wilderness of the 1850's where the wilderness is indeed wild. Groups of settlers are struggling to reach peace and safety but they are soon wiped out in a horrific massacre that was instigated and carried out by the Mormon militia called the Nauvoo Legion and Paiute warriors. The story as I said is based on fact and the Mormon tribe led by the nasty Brigham Young is waging war with the United States over land and their right to literally own the Utah territory damn to all those natives, pioneers and the country itself if they try to stop him, after all he is the governor of the territory and God's messenger.

The massacre is indeed horrible and I don't think I have ever seen what the force and damage that an arrow shot from a bow can do until this series. They fly through the air like missiles, strange things from another planet and land with unimaginable force and destruction. This is not my Saturday morning t.v. of cowboys and indians that I watched as a kid.

Among the settlers trying to reach safety and her husband in Crooks Springs Utah is a mother and her young son. The mom is played by the great Betty Gilpin in a brave and tough role. It turns out that she is wanted for murder and has a bounty on her head which brings in more loathsome characters, as if we needed any more. We find out the reason for her murder later on in the series but for now she is trying to protect herself and her beloved young son who appears to be crippled and wears a brace from all the horrors and dangers that come their way.

She manages to hitch her wagon with a Mormon family and they escape the massacre along with a young mute Indian girl who has hidden herself in their wagon to escape her own horrible story. This young girl will play an important role in the coming events and the hardships that await them all. .

Gilpin meets up with Isaac Reed a rough shaggy mountain man who was raised by the Shoshone and is hesitate about being her guide. He is played by the handsome Taylor Kitsch. We don't know how he came to be raised by the Shoshone tribe, and my feelings for them is a mixed bag of disgust and admiration.

The series was created and co-written by Mark L. Smith who had a hand in writing “The Revenant” which has a lot in common with “American Primeval” this time instead of a ferocious bear we have a pack of ferocious wolves. Influenced by practically every western ever made including “Dead Man” and “The Searchers” the series has come under attack by historians most notably from Barbara Jones Brown who is the co-author of “Vengeance is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and its aftermath for twisting the facts about the incidents depicted in the series. This is nothing new in cinema and television. You can take it or leave it.

The director of the series Peter Berg is also a familiar actor and his direction here is vivid and strong but I don't agree with his take that there were no good or evil people, only people trying to survive. Well I saw quite a few evil people doing a lot of evil things along with a few good people doing more than just trying to survive. Most of the good cast was unfamiliar to me and the quality of the look and feel of the series is impressive especially the cinematography and the sound. As I said this is not for everyone I was stressed out throughout, but to me its the best series of the year. I know its only January.