Let me start by saying that this film is visually stunning. The camera work evokes stark, black and white images with a very dream-like world. The props provided by Catalyst Studios are, as one would suspect, top notch (for those unaware and living in a cave hiding from the Great Old Ones, Catalyst Studios is responsible for the cover of the d20 Cthulhu book). Make up? Wonderful. The look of the mail character, Ezekiel Sutter? Top notch.
Sadly, the soundtrack for this film was recorded separately. Given the strange feel of the film, I actually didn't mind the dialog not matching up to the screen. What I did mind was the lackluster performance given by many of the actors while doing their voicework. An example would be Sebastian DeLaOsa's abominable performance as the Marshal. With no real emotion or passion to what he is saying, the viewer gets the feeling that he is simply reading lines from a script. Of course, there are exceptions and I would be remiss in pointing out the wonderful performance of Michael Graves in the title role.
The story itself is an original tale set in " A west that never was, and will be again". While the movie is well-paced it never manages to get beyond eerie, though I suspect it was trying desperately hard to do so. While there are some odd things about the movie (why does the main character walk everywhere?) overall it is entertaining. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the story seems a bit rushed, and the tale could have done with a longer treatment.
As for Lovecraftian references? They are fairly subtle. Indeed the most obvious is on the DVD case, a mention of the "Tattered King". That is okay though, this film seeks to evoke atmosphere rather than screams, and in that it does fairly well.
There are some interesting extras on the DVD. Oddly enough, the interviews are the most disappointing. Obviously done in one take, there are times where it is almost impossible to hear what is being said due to planes flying over head. Those sequences should have been reshot, but never were. However, as extras go, the collections of photos are by far my favorite and there are some really great pictures included on the DVD.
