After a shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Knowing the police will be closing in on them, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in a remote lumber mill. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.... (Full plot summary below)
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After a shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Knowing the police will be closing in on them, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in a remote lumber mill. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.
Leave your thoughts about The Standoff at Sparrow Creek.
| RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDunham displays a remarkable skill when it comes to using limited space, trapping his characters in a warehouse on a life-changing night and watching the insecurities that they have shrouded in macho masculinity come bubbling to the surface. |
| The Film StageJared MobarakThe Standoff at Sparrow Creek isn’t about finding hope in a hopeless situation through a broken man willing to be the hero rather than villain. No, it wants to show the monstrousness of complicity and the helplessness of a conflict too far-gone to solve. |
| Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpDunham’s filmmaking remains disciplined throughout, building pressure within that’s eventually released in explosive violence. That’s what the title promises, after all. But that promise doesn’t blunt the jolting effect of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek’s storytelling or the gutpunches dealt in its climax. |
| Film ThreatHunter LanierThere is no emotional manipulation, and there are no ideological hand-outs. You almost feel like you’re watching the events unfold through a keyhole, which gives every hushed exchange and passive-aggressive examination a voyeuristic thrill. |
| The A.V. ClubKatie RifeRather than defanging the story, sanding down The Standoff At Sparrow Creek’s political implications foregrounds its exceptional dialogue and strong performances, revealing the lean, punchy, beautifully shot ’70s-style thriller underneath the controversial premise. |
| New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriThat the actors are so good, and the imagery absorbing, also helps paper over some of the film’s weaker elements. Even as we dig into these men’s pasts, Dunham wants to maintain the slightly unreal, allegorical quality of his story. |
| ObserverRex ReedThe caterpillar crawl that passes for pacing succeeds in putting any number of viewers to sleep, including me. |
| Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangIt flirts with politics but is content to settle, in the end, for a parlor trick. |
| Arizona RepublicSamantha IncorvaiaThe film has so much potential, but it's a shame that it all falls flat. |
| The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe Standoff at Sparrow Creek, the writing-directing feature debut of Henry Dunham, strands seven actors in a warehouse to bark exposition at one another. Listening closely is necessary: The monotonously dark visuals barely function to carry the story on their own. |
