Once the dominant genre of American cinema, the Western has been replaced by expensive spectacles which are currently of the superhero variety. Not that spectacles are bad, but there is something to be said about what can be done in the world of the cowboy that is different than anything else.
But the Western is capable of so much. You can have comedy like Blazing Saddles or science fiction like Cowboys & Aliens. You can have a message hidden in the story like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. You can even have it set in the present like The Last Stand-an underrated Ahnuld movie in my opinion. In short, the Western is not bound just to the 1800s and shootouts but can encompass a great many things. It is quite versatile.
With that in mind presented here are another three Western shorts from YouTube. Enjoy!
————————————————————————————
Fear the Unknown Men
- Directed by Luke Shelley
- March 15, 2019
A sheriff must confront a notorious gang with the help of a mysterious stranger out to collect a bounty.
Fear the Unknown Men is a well-crafted Western fan film. There’s a level of hesitancy I go into with any fan film. I’m afraid that they will look bad or just generally be bad, but this manages to be something good. The production values are quality. And the acting is actually professional. This isn’t something that looks like it was made by a couple of friends who got together one weekend.
The characters presented have some realism. You get the feeling that the sheriff has good reason to be fearful like he is. And our main heavy comes off as genuinely tough and dangerous. It takes a serious tone without being soul crushing. The people behind this do not mistake an emotionally depressing environment for fine drama.
Fear the Unknown Men is a worthy short that should appeal to Western fans as well as fans of drama.
————————————————————————————
Still Wanted-A Western Short Film
- Directed by Brian Peveler
- January 1, 2022
A man in the West must fight to clear his name.
Still Wanted is an attempt at a spaghetti Western by a bunch of high school kids. Seriously. There is not a single adult in this entire movie which means there’s also not a single experienced performer in this entire movie either. The acting is questionable at best. But beneath it all there is a good script with the poor performances hampering what we ultimately get everything.
And that’s the main thing against it. Poor performances. This is one of those things that you can see quality in but because it is handled by clear amateurs it fails to attain any level of strong quality. The performances are generally wooden and stiff. It’s not a bad effort, but it needs a lot of work.
Or maybe it is because too many hats were worn by one person behind the camera. Heavy is the head with waaaaaaaay too many crowns. Brian Peveler is not only the director, but he produced it, wrote the screenplay, and even did the music. You need to be able to focus and I do not think he could.
And it has this weird post credit scene involving a time traveling car. Was this a nod to Back to the Future III? Most likely but it just did not fit.
Ultimately Still Wanted is a nice idea brought down by distinct inexperience.
————————————————————————————
Hope to Die
- Written and Directed by Alexander “Not Alex” Jones
- July 3, 2023
I give director Jones points for making a film where nobody really talks. That is a ballzy move and they succeeded in that part very well. You can understand what’s going on with the characters at the moment yet no dialogue is ever uttered.
Sadly I just have no idea what the plot of Hope to Die exactly is. First our characters are out in the woods and have a shoot-out with some people. The young man shoots without looking and the old man manages to take out attackers. And then they get back to their ranch or whatever and have a shootout between themselves where the young man dies, and there are some people apparently sick in bed. What is going on here? No clue. I guess they were aiming for symbolism of some type but it honestly is just confusing.
I think Hope to Die is one you can just skip. Not the first bad Western short from New Zealand I have watched.
————————————————————————————
While not all winners, I hope you have found something you might like in these offerings. Some may not have been my cup of tea but you could be different.
Warren Watched A Movie 