Bite the Dust

• Written and Directed by Christopher Sheffield
• June 1, 2023 (US)

Two bounty hunters and a young woman face off against a mining baron using children taken from an orphan train.

One thing that will jump out right away is that Bite the Dust is a lower budgeted film. Not a bargain basement with virtually no money (I’m looking at you Calamity Jane’s Revenge) but the funds used here were not huge. For what it is it is quite good. It rises to the higher echelons of quality among the truly independent productions.

The acting is serviceable, but not great. Nobody really knocks it out of the park though one or two could do better. Specifically Heather Wake who plays Rosemary O’Rourke. Rosemary has come to the dusty town of Oro Lindo trying to track down orphan train children. Wake is given plenty of serious dialogue and really cannot do it a modicum of justice. Wake though really shined in Rosemary’s lighter moments which leaves me feeling that the character should have been made a touch more comedic to play to the actress’s strengths. Not comic relief but maybe a touch more aloof.

Our two bounty hunters are former boxer Waco (Russell Clay) and his friend Dutch Langford (George Nelson). After accidentally killing a famous outlaw with multiple nicknames (a running gag throughout Bite the Dust) they come to drop off the outlaw’s companion of Zeke Tyler (Kellen Garner)-whom was the one they were originally after-and the body to claim the bounty on both.

Clay and Nelson do a fine enough job as two friends and adventurers who make a living as bounty hunters. Both are charming enough and likeable enough that you care about the outcome. They are among the stronger performers here but that is a low bar. Kellen Garner as Zeke is a real scene stealer to the point he can outshine most of the other performers.

Having a moral compass as well as finding themselves increasingly pushed into a corner they soon face off against local mining baron Thaddeus Vincent (Aaron Ginn-Forsburg). Both Ginn-Forsburg and writer/director Christopher Sheffield give us a significant villain that is not too grand for the clear limitations of the production but big enough you think they could win. There are implications of icky things on Vincent’s part, but the focus of his villainy is the slave labor delivered unintentionally on the regular by the train.

While the story starts as a buddy Western, Bite the Dust takes a quick turn to something more serious once we get to why Rosemary is in the untamed West on her own. We quickly learn that the children are used for dangerous work where adults will not fit and since these are people nobody will miss Vincent can pretty much do as he wishes. That’s a bit messed up.

Despite its turn into a story about forced child labor and the implication of Mr. Vincent’s pedophilia, it maintains a fun and light tone. It’s good versus evil. You know who the bad guys are and you know who the heroes are with no blurring of the lines. The heroes aren’t the best of the best, but they step up to the challenge and give it their best shot much like some of your better action comedies.

The action we get is surprisingly solid. Not the best choreographed ever seen but given the clear budget imitations of this film I expected so much worse and this easily exceeded my expectations. There was judicious editing, and they kept the movements of the assorted characters quick as well.

This is a lighter film but not an out and out comedy. None of the jokes really undercut anything they’re trying to do. They alleviate the tension of the moment but do not lessen the characters who are part of them. They do just enough to prevent things from getting unnecessarily dark and keep this closer to a mythmaking Western than a revisionist Western.

The script deserves praise. The people behind this set out to tell a good story and smartly were able to use everything at their disposable to maximum potential without reaching beyond what the resources allowed. And it ultimately led to a film that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Production values I would put up there with a higher end television production from thirty years ago but certainly not a theatrical release of ever. There’s enough here that puts you in the world that they’re creating but it’s certainly not going to rank above anything from a major motion picture studio.

When they first dropped that Waco was a boxer I did not think it would be carried too far. I figured it would end with Waco’s demonstration with Caleb (Caleb Evans) just to show he could handle himself in a fight and set up some background for a fight with a bigger (and disposable) baddie. It actually played into the finale in a rather well done boxing match. And more importantly that match was part of an intelligently done plan. This wasn’t a stupid finale nor stupid movie. These may not have been big names or the most seasoned of professionals, but they put forward a good effort here and crafted an intelligent film that was also exciting and entertaining.

Bite the Dust was a random choice but a random choice that demonstrated you can still make a good Western-a good Western for what it was anyway. It has just enough humor and excitement and good characters to make it worthwhile viewing. If you’re a fan of Westerns this is a must see.