Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999)

This turned out to be a watchable little family film. It very much has a made for t.v. quality to it, and the actors are about on that level as well. The movie builds tension well as the real focus of the story, Judd Travers, becomes more and more of a threat. Like the first movie, Judd was the best performance in the story. It's strange how his character walks a fine line of being dangerous and threatening, but the other characters still show him some amount of courtesy and respect. I think we're meant to assume that because the setting is a small, close knit community is an out of the way village, that Judd gets away with things he wouldn't in another time or place. As I watched with my six year old daughter, I was very aware of what exactly was being shown as far as his anti-social behavior. In fact, the story does a good job of making him seem very scary and threatening without ever having him do anything truly wicked. Kind of like the Wicked Witch of the West, he is a safe villain for young audiences to experience some fear through without going too far. The last few sequences with Marty writing letters and helping Judd to bond with Shiloh were really well done and genuinely heartwarming. I'm glad I took the time to try this one. The payoff was worthwhile.

Spoiler! A surprise ending about hope. I watched this movie with my wife and nephew Austin. Austin enjoyed the movie. Austin liked how people can change. My wife liked the dog. Myself found it a little long at the beginning, but as the movie progressed the pace and flow melded into a entertaining movie. The guy from Law and Order played a good part. It was different seeing him in such a different role. The movie gives you a feeling of country life. They even had the nasty neighbour. The other dogs in the movie were mean because they were mistreated, but with a little love and kindest, they can change. Overall it is a good movie for the family to watch. 8/10

Unlike most sequels, I was surprised to find "Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season" better than "Shiloh". Maybe it was the more developed story, or maybe a better actor playing the part of Marty Preston. Normally seeing a different actor in a leading role turns me off sequels, but in this case it just wasn't like that. And even though this movie deals with some hard issues, it seems like even more of a nice, warm family film. I'm so glad I decided to watch it because now, it's one of my favourite "nice" movies.

This is one of the few movies made lately which the whole family can attend, without suddenly being shocked. If I had any criticism, it might be that it was almost too 'sweet'.A very pleasant change from all the special effects around.