YMMV / Quigley Down Under

• Complete Monster: Elliott Marston is a ruthless Cattle Baron aiming to expand his land and profit. Unfortunately, the Aborigine people are in his way. As a result, Marston hires thugs to shoot "animals", later revealing he intends them to kill Aborigines, which enrages hero and sharpshooter Matthew Quigley. Marston has Quigley dumped into the wilderness to die with a witness named Cora, and on their trek back to civilization, they see Marston's men massacring Aborigines, in one case running them over a cliff. Marston later attempts to kill Quigley by forcing a quick-draw duel under the impression Quigley can't use a revolver, while showing no compunction in murdering whoever gets in his way. Ruthless and genocidal, Marston embodies the worst concepts of greed and expansion, even in the Australian Outback.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The attack by a pack of dingoes who are hungry and desperate enough to not only attack humans but turn on their own wounded packmate is pretty frightening. Cora and the baby are alone in a cave while Quigley goes for supplies when the pack shows up, illuminated only by moonlight and the small campfire. It gets even more suspenseful as Cora frantically reloads her cap and ball Colt revolver while they devour the one she initially wounded, especially when they stalk back into the cave, covered in blood.
  • The scenes of Marston's men massacring the Aborigines, including women and children, by running them off a cliff in cold blood.
  • We learn the reason for Cora's psychotic break: she accidentally smothered her infant son while hiding from Comanche raiders and was subsequently abandoned by her husband. Cora's matter-of-fact narration of the story, juxtaposed with Quigley's silently horrified reaction, only make it worse.
• Signature Scene: Two, both equally iconic
  • Quigley proving his skills by repetitively shooting a bucket that's about half a mile away.
  • Quigley killing two men with a single shot. Such a feat is actually called "(pulling) a quigley" in honor of this.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Cora's tale of Roy Jr. and how she came to be in Australia.
  • The death of Klaus's mother. What was supposed to be a simple night of helping a legendary hero turns into a senseless loss.
  • Overlaps with heartwarming, and is good for happy tears at least; when Quigley leaves Cora with the gunsmith for her safety while he goes to settle the score with Marston, his parting words to her would be enough. But, after riding out, he pauses, turns and looks at her for a moment, something that her husband would not do when he left her behind.
• Values Resonance:
  • While rationalizing his Final Solution, Marston speaks disparagingly of American Indians and declares that Americans have an "effective method" of dealing with indigenous populations. Quigley replies "I suppose that depends on if you're an Indian or not." Quigley's tone and Death Glare indicate exactly where he stands on that particular issue. And then when Marston explicitly declares that he’s hired Quigley to murder Aborigines, Quigley promptly throws him through a window.
  • The German gunsmith and his family are friendly with the aborigines and despise Marston.

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