Unnatural

Living on a remote ranch, several children are the only survivors and are saved by their grandfather who turns out to be a monster hunter sent to stop the vampire controlling a small town nearby which puts them in the middle of a feud for power over control of the town forcing them to intervene.

This was a rather troubling and problematic genre effort. Among its brighter spots is the central setup that allows for a greater use of its period setting than expected. The idea of the Old West being aware of the supernatural creatures of the night and how to deal with them while also managing to include enough reasoning for what's going on as not only is there the initial hunter going around taking his grandchildren with him but there's also the team of hunters looking through the town for the other creatures said to be in the area. The bits of folklore here involve how everyone knows of the creatures, even having a deal in place to protect them from the creatures, and the way it plays out offers up a thrilling Western vibe about a town being taken over by a ruthless gang holding terror over everyone and a ruthless gunslinger determined to stop him. This all comes together here to make for a solid enough time. There are some big issues with this one. The main drawback present here is the highly underwhelming pace that takes place where everything is far more drawn-out than it really should be. The idea of what's going on in the town is solid enough and has a premise worth getting invested in, but it takes way too long with plenty of unnecessary moments or storylines that manage to make it far longer than it should be. Taking the kids along for the ride provides some humorous interactions but also stretches out the running time significantly, as well as the scenes of him meeting up with the others in the town who keep trying to steer him away but just grow repetitive without anything that warrants him leaving with how cryptically everything comes off, leaving this to feel like the same thing over and over again. This holds up the action to the point of barely getting any of it until the ending with the pacing as it is. The other flaw here is the entirety of the deal with the vampire sheriff that the town agrees to and seems to be the whole purpose of the film. The concept makes no sense with only one individual fighting off the town as their law-enforcer to continually stay in there under his rule for as long as they do, making them come off as completely illogical. The dynamic makes little sense in how it came together and just reeks of being included simply for the sake of having the villain do something since there's nothing else going on that warrants him being there as there's nothing else he does worthwhile throughout here. Combined with the general lack of blood or gore for the kills presented here, these hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.