Okay, I'll start by saying that this is not a horror film. If you're looking to be scared then this tale is not for you.
What this movie is more a dark western fantasy, set in present times, based around supernatural creatures; lycanthropes - werewolves. And, it's not that bad.
The story is way out there, quite a few miles past the twilight zone... It's a story of one man's revenge against the men-come-creatures who killed his beloved. The trouble is evil never dies and once the creatures draw breath into their lungs so does our good cowboy hero. As we progress through the story we learn more about the good-guy in black. Such as he was trained in the martial arts by a long-dead Asian Warlord who had pledged to defeat these demons. How much cooler could you get than when the werewolves dispatch a biker gang and take their leathers and rides. What more could you ask from a story - an undead ghost trained, martial arts cowboy killing lycanthrope bikers from hell.
If the budget had been bigger then this could have been a truly awesome B-movie. Luckily, writer and director, Josh Ridgeway infuses his film with as much imagination as he did within his story. There are some nice camera angles and pans that add to the strength of the film. He's even adept at using lighting to create an atmosphere. I believe that if he wanted his audience afraid he could have put the scare into them.
Though Ridgeway shoots his action scenes with skill and minimises the shaky-camera effect to good effect the fights are too slow. On the whole, they are well choreographed, they just need to be a tad faster to make them exciting.
The acting is also above par. Tom Zembrod as the Alpha Werewolf Willie Price is perfect. He has such a good repartee, especially when he's chanting and bating Colt, our kung-fu cowboy, that it keeps you smiling and watching. Matthew Tompkins as the Sheriff is gruff, strong, and ideally cast. I've liked Sean Patrick Flanery since I first watched him in Powder. However, in this film, he's not at his best. He seems to be lacking an "oomph" that his character requires. He gets the sleaziness across flawlessly but it feels like something is missing. The rest of the cast range from good to decent.
The special effects aren't brilliant but they do work. The worst, by far, is the rubber mask werewolf. The Willie Price werewolf is layered up and looks quite good - it's passable. But this only adds to the nastiness of ol' rubber-face. Good thing he's only around a few times. You can forgive and forget.
I would gladly recommend this Dark Western Fantasy to all. It's entertaining, humourous, and has its fair share of action. It's a bonus that the acting and the story are greater than the usual fodder of this type. A nice waste of an hour and a half. I'll even watch this flick again... Enjoy.
Feel free to check out my Obsidian Dreams list-come-chart to see where this places in my fantasy films.
