“Trapped and without backup, a small town cop fights for her life when her remote Sheriff’s Office is targeted by murderous attackers.“

Right out the gate we have a shot that comes off as a modern take on a John Ford Classic, this is my last review from the Glasgow Film Festival 2024 and I’m sure that this shot shows that I have made the right choice to finish out this festival. In another classic storytelling move, Jericho Ridge sets up a literal “Chekovs Gun” writer & director Will Gilbey is building up to something tense, and I am here for it.

If I was to give you the elevator pitch I’d tell you that Jericho Ridge is an atmospheric, tense and isolationist film. It strays from cop drama, to thriller and even skirts into brief moments of utter horror. It has great action but unlike many films in this genre it never loses that emotional weight and carries it all the way to the finish line.

Nikki Amuka-Bird is a tour de force, playing the role of Deputy Temple, a strong African American Women, balancing an injury, problems at her job, being a single parent and now she is left isolated, hunted and ill-equipped at her remote station. Yet through it all she holds firm to her moral code, like something out of a Kurosawa classic.

She is beautifully flawed, tragically driven and completely endearing to the audience. This is how you write an engaging lead character.

And it’s not just the acting this film has another ace up its sleeve, because unlike many other cop films this one makes extensive use of alternative cameras such as security cameras, body cams and dashboard cameras, all of which add an extra layer of realism to the film. At times you the viewer actually feels like you are right there with Deputy Temple, and that gets your heart pounding.

Now I will warn you, this film does have some violent scenes in it, and I’m not talking about the over the top gun fights of John Wick or the brutal violence of a horror movie, here we have something more realistic. At times quiet and brief, but others are brutal and in your face.

Another endearing aspect of this movie is that it touches on many aspects of American life in ever so fleeting ways. Gun Culture, drug use, pain killers addiction, the sense of hopelessness that many in my generation feel. These are not constant running themes but they are there in the undercurrent and two of these really helped make the film resonate with me.

Jericho Ridge is an old American classic, but with some fantastic modern flavours. Jericho Ridge fits comfortably between fan favourites such as Die Hard and modern police films such as the Brilliant Wind River. It really is worth a watch.