The Devil Came on Horseback
The Devil Came on Horseback Image
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Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Devil Came on Horseback exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur as seen through the eyes of an American witness who has since returned to the US to take action to stop it. Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Briahn Steidle, The Devil Come on Horseback takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of it's black African citizens. As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience, including being fired upon, taken hostage, and being unable to intervene to save the lives of young children. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed. (Break Thru Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Steve Winn
    100
    An exceptionally powerful film driven by contradictory forces.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    This shouldn't be a competitive sport or anything, but I'm pretty sure that Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern's documentary The Devil Came on Horseback has the most horrifying images I have ever seen in a motion picture.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    78
    The film’s approach suits an audience broader than the usual documentary crowd, though it’s worth mentioning that those pictures can really stay with you.
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    75
    These images and reports have stirred consciences without quite stirring decisive action, and an earnest indie doc like this one seems like another cry in the wilderness.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. GavinH.
    10
    Excellent....a real insight as to messed up the world is...and the bloke that said it was boring is a f****** narrow minded.
  2. ShakenBake
    10
    This Movie is very well directed look at the genocide in Darfur. I cried a lot!
  3. ChadS.
    8
    The subject does refer to himself in the third person(and has a Ray Liotta-like laugh) early on in "The Devil Came on Horseback" as he recounts his prospects of being a paper jockey in an office, but when he cries on camera, we believe this Marine Captain. After all, genocide is something to cry about. Since the ex-Marine acts as our narrator, the story of Darfur is abridged by his limited knowledge. He knows the "when" and "where"; the external particulars of Khartoum's collaboration with the Janjaweed, but not the "why"; the historicism of African/Arab relations in the Sudanese region. "The Devil Came on Horseback" has a narrow scope. This doc is about one man's relationship to human tragedy. It's an indoctrination tool, a user-friendly film about a particular current event. What "The Devil Came on Horseback" lacks in insight, it more than makes up with the photographs that documents an innumerable amount of casual hate crimes against the Sudanese people. And sadly, "The Devil Came on Horseback" gives us one more reason to be embarrassed about our current administration.… Expand
  4. JaredC.
    0
    Boring, I hated it.

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