Dead in Tombstone

"Oh, and all those sins? Somebody's come to collect." - Guerrero

release year: 2013 direct-to-video
genre: western/horror
viewing setting: home Bluray 11/3/13

synopsis: A bandit is betrayed and killed by his gang, but makes a deal with the devil to return and get revenge.

impressions: It was decent, but the trailer made it look better than it was. I liked the violence, obviously, and the whole thing was very atmospheric. The acting was great. What I didn't like: over-use of the same images (clocks ticking, pendulums swinging, grears turning)...that really got old. And some of the fights were done in darkness, making it impossible to see what the hell was going on. Logic-wise, the terms of the deal didn't really make sense...it was like the Devil kept changing them, plus it wasn't clear why he wanted the gang so badly. I have to think that this movie's writer was influenced by the Saint of Killers from Garth Ennis' Preacher comic epic.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy getting half his head blown away by a cannon.

acting: Danny Trejo does better in westerns than in regular action movies; that's just who he is. Also the man hasn't aged in twenty years. Anthony Michael-Hall is great as an amoral bad guy. Mickey Rourke really hams it up as the sadistic Devil here. Dina Meyer is an angry woman who helps out Guerrero.

final word: Good and entertaining, but could have been better.

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