While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
吓人的部分都在预告里了 亲情部分比预料中出彩
6/10。把我看困了，娱乐可看性不如《灵媒》，诡异氛围远逊《南巫》。唯一的优点是对观众的冒犯，如午夜凶铃里的录像带，电影成为诅咒的媒介，虽然也只是学了哈内克的皮毛。给了及格分的很大原因是道具美术的精致，本土恐怖片太缺这样的用心之作了，伪纪录片手法大可不必。凝视带来的重影很迷人，我好像对扫地机器人有太高期望。
合着这个片子叫咒，它影片本身就真的是个给观众下的咒。真正恐怖的东西不在视觉上的恐怖，而在心理层面不可说的恐惧。一旦你真的信佛信神信咒，它就在心里种下了绵绵不绝的恐惧。
宣传的挺好，概念不错，但是挺失望的。情节太破碎了，一味的添加恐怖元素，反而乱七八糟。前半段还挺感人的，知道他们是自己送死的，就离谱了，后期还走传销路线。。。哎！视觉恐怖太多了。
密集恐惧真的掉san……佛母长得也有点克系，所以这个故事当克苏鲁代餐也行（？）伪dv的形式有利有弊吧，为了保持这种虚假的“真实”，有时候机位的选择就很刻意，人物还得去做一些多余的动作调整镜头，而且作为观众还会下意识质疑这个场景出现摄影机是否合理。这些东西又会反过来削弱真实感。不过恐怖片就是明摆着的“故意”嘛，比如那个黑屏的咒语，字幕就是要在正中一个字一个字蹦，盯着中心看久了会发现周围的符文好像在扭动旋转，虽然是玩视错觉的小聪明，但还是有用心设计的，笑笑完事了。看恐怖片还怕啥晦气啊？
很多人都因为被晦气到了所以打了低分，其实被晦气到了也就是被吓到了吧，那么恐怖片也就算成功了。民俗宗教元素串恐怖片真的很有代入感。里面有经典元素让我觉得蛮酷。招魂、驱魔人有多少分，这部电影就该多少分、甚至更高一些。
这个咒语不管她怎么跟我讲，不管怎么给我反复出现，最后两个字我就是不认得，所以每次让我跟着念我都念不会。结果最后她告诉我说要帮她的女儿分担一点诅咒，没办法，这分担不到我了，太可惜了
而且还利用了一些心理诱导和视觉残像的手法来和观众产生深度交互，
大致锁定年度最佳华语恐怖片。基本上没有被吓到，但爽点还是不少的。有些地方有点创意，然而伪纪录片的逻辑问题一直都很难以理顺。本片中妈妈对女儿的复杂态度还是值得玩味的，也让影片拥有了一个可供解读的潜文本空间。
我喜欢里面的视错觉运用，尤其是结尾翻译经文的时候，利用黑白对比，让咒符在画面消失之后，依然在眼前闪烁。
没有期待中的那样恐怖，太多数氛围还是靠禁忌的东方民俗元素来营造，视觉上则依赖于密集的虫洞恐惧，伪纪录片的拍摄手法早已没有新鲜感，不过倒是很贴合民俗题材，导演在其中还安插祝福到诅咒的观众互动，让许多人反射性的感到不舒服，冒犯的表达甚至被骂上晦气的热搜，但也正因敢于犯禁的拉进电影与观众间的距离，它仍然是今年目前为止最好看的华语恐怖片~
很是拖沓，而且小心思太多了，有时候伪纪录片里的恐惧还是需要直给，没有设计会显得更合理。这个佛母也是挺没出息的，活这么多年了就知道折腾人，下三滥。
评论区说的这一切都不过是场局，六年前女主就在谋划这一场局了，感觉脑洞很大很有意思，但总觉得还缺点什么没解释清。好的恐怖片就这点好，看表面故事感觉很简单略无聊，但会细思极恐，而且会有好多种猜想与解读。虽然没被吓到，但很喜欢。而且很喜欢叙诡，无论是推理小说还是影视作品，觉得叙诡很好玩
最烦这种作死叙事的恐怖片了（能不能建立一个能让社恐认同的恐怖片叙事啊）
3.5分。 没有那么晦气，当然，真的看完觉得晦气了，还是因为信了导演的邪了，越是相信片子里的恐怖逻辑，就越是在现实里面逃不开，觉得自己遭到诅咒了。 其实，这是一种媒介恐惧。早年间的邵氏巫术电影，用的是虫子、器皿和神像，后来日本电影有用电话的，也有用录像带的，到了前些年还有用DV机的，以及所谓的桌面电影的，当然还包括本片里面的网络影片传播的概念。越是和当代人贴近的恐怖媒介，越是适合用来做恐怖片的手段。
可惜我不爱吃这套，开头的不厌其烦已经让人厌恶而没法代入了，主角们的骚操作更是活该，最恶心的是这晃晕头的手持镜头，整部电影故弄玄虚，乱七八糟，让人没法共情，导致一点都不恐怖，只觉得厌恶，恶心。
个人感觉还没有灵媒好看。太刻意，有不少除片中摄像机之外的镜头视角不严谨，剪辑稀烂
反祝福，反手势，反母爱无私，私欲和诅咒哪个更恐怖？一场伪装温情无害化的欺骗，“不信邪就得死”的海报，相信而生气，生气而害怕，那恐怖片要的效果达到了，在恐怖片找冒犯尺度令人摸不着头脑。
非常好。
6.0/10。两男一女组成视频博主团队去邪教仪式的禁地录制所见所闻，结果两男主和女主的父母全部死于非命，女主也因此精神失常。后来则是一个温情（？）的亲情故事：女主为了女儿开始打起精神，四处找人试图解开她和女儿身上的诅咒，最终结局算是开放式（？）。影片是典型的伪纪录片（第一人称手持、伪自我纪录、伪访谈、手机竖屏录制、监控录像、空间上的突兀跳跃等）式恐怖片。总体来说虽不能说不恐怖但恐怖效果中规中矩（而且集中在后段，前段甚至昏昏欲睡）。结尾扣一星（要是恐怖也就算了，现在不怎么恐怖还咒观众出事，只觉得晦气）。
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