Horror films or Westerns with heavy horror elements are rare. Though not done too much (and usually by independent studios), the isolation of the West is an ideal place for tales of terror. Why few venture there is a mystery but as is shown here the probably should.
The offerings here buck that trend. Enjoy!
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The Legend of the Wendigo
- Directed by October Yates and Brady McAtee
- November 1, 2020
An isolated town becomes fearful of the legendary creature.
I went into The Legend of the Wendigo (along with the others viewed here) with some nervousness. My last venture into YouTube horror was lackluster but after viewing some random videos I started getting Western horror suggestions and intrigued made this my first viewing.
The story starts with a shocking death of a child and slowly builds from there. Wisely you see very little in general with the mind of the viewer doing much of the fear when it comes to the creature. Not that it looks bad when finally seen. It looks creepy and like something that was once human. And the gore is shown just enough that you know what you are looking at but not to the point it blunts the shock value.
October Yates and Brady McAtee keep things simple and focused. The story moves quickly and is mostly logical given introduced elements. Mostly but not entirely. There is one issue I have.
My major beef is the missing boy’s mother coming out of nowhere and saving the day. Her motivation is understandable but she trekked through dangerous woods by herself at night getting to her destination in very good shape. Yet the organized posse of experienced individuals who had gone out first had trouble navigating the area and were all cut down or wounded. And she took the wendigo out with high proof alcohol and a scatter gun to set it on fire.
I am not against a woman being the hero, but it came off as a combo of difficult to swallow and cliché. I would have been fine with it if she had accompanied them rather than showing up out of nowhere. It felt like lazy writing to get an ending rather than something organic.
While not the greatest of horror films, The Legend of the Wendigo works mostly very well. There are enough scares and gore along with a great looking creature and a mostly well-done film that my beef does not greatly harm anything. This is something I recommend.
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Bushwhacker Blues
- Written and Directed by James Campbell
- February 11, 2022
Two men stumble across a bloody preacher in the woods.
After Bushwhacker Blues was all over, I was left trying to figure out if the werewolf was the scariest thing in this or was it the two escapees from Deliverance. While nobody was saying they were going to make someone squeal like a piggie, they certainly were trying to do just that.
This packs a lot into a short bit of time with an ultimately predictable ending. Not that makes this bad since the trip there. Bushwhacker Blues is entertaining with a few scares and generally quality work along the way.
If I were to find fault here, the character hunting the preacher that shows up in the last minute or two of the short felt a bit extraneous as he really was just one more dead body. You get why he was after the preacher but maybe an extra minute or two to introduce how he came to hunt was warranted. Then again that would have stopped the effective building of tension in the story that made the ending enjoyable.
Fortunately the premise is kept simple enough that no real explanations are needed even if you may want one. There is enough contained to get you through and anything you feel is lacking can easily be covered by your own imagination.
Bushwhacker Blues is a good Western themed horror story that is well worth a watch.
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One Hell of a Campfire Story: The Devil Hunter
- Written and Directed by Samuel LaPointe
- May 26, 2023
A former Pinkerton and a young preacher hunter a wendigo.
Occasionally on YouTube you encounter a low budget gem of a short film with good ideas and a good execution that wisely does not reach beyond its grasp making it very good. And then you encounter something like One Hell of a Campfire Story: The Devil Hunter which is a good idea, but with a poor execution that attempts to reach well beyond what it is capable of making it something much less.
Executing a horror story in the daylight is extremely tricky. Darkness has a level of uncertainty and terror because you cannot clearly see everything. This is set in broad daylight with some overcast. I may have given them some credit if they used a night filter and filmed in the daytime. My guess though is they just didn’t have the money for lighting. And that’s the first clue that they were reaching beyond their grasp.
For something on the low budget side, the overall appearance is not bad but where this also falters is the acting of our two characters. They’re just not that good in this. There’s not even one of them that can carry things and help cover for the other. They’re both just flat and bland in their deliveries.
And then we have a distinct shortcoming with the appearance of the creature. The dark can hide flaws letting your mind make things a little more intense. We get some very good looks at the creature which appears cobbled together from bits of other costumes found at a Spirit Halloween. The directing is adequate but character motivations and the twist at the end despite preexisting dialogue leaves me scratching my head.
Ultimately One Hell of a Campfire Story: The Devil Hunter is a good idea that was fumbled. I think this is one of those things you can just pass on.
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The previous offerings were a bit of a mixed bag with two of the three being worthwhile viewing. That does not mean there is nothing out there. Take some time to look for yourself. I am sure you will find something.
Warren Watched A Movie 