They Call Her Death

S'okay, i'm still digesting this one, but something about this indie effort invites an early review (and it's not just the fact that mine would be this film's second such thing). BUT, I'm tossing out six stars and this review primarily because I know how difficult it is to do something excellent without millions of dollars and many people.

This is a classic grindhouse exploitation film (I don't know why this format isn't more common in independent film, it's powerful but forgiving of goofs). We have an angry woman with a gun (several, reallly) who is on a mission to right a few wrongs.

Here's why you should watch. The players can act. The writers can write. The photographers can photograph... stuff. And the rest ain't bad either.

Will you see a few gaps? I hope so! That's the joy of indie efforts!

I say, mosey on up, pardner, grab a mug and a chaw, and sit a spell. You'll want to know why "They Call Her Death" (when that's not really her name).

What the general audience gets here is fun, and grindhouse fans with an eye for the genre get something they know has effort. A hallmark of this type of picture is ambition even beyond means, and it shows here in all the right and wrong ways exactly as it should. Schlock and style, rule of cool, shoestring quality practical effects blended with semi-uncanny digital effects wrapped around both precise and clunky shots. You don't have to fight your way through it if you treat it like a guilty pleasure snack and not a five course meal. It's a marriage of sharpness and cringe that just works and makes me happy that high-concept hasn't smothered the genre.

Needless to say that I had never heard about this 2024 Western titled "They Call Her Death", from writer and director Austin Snell, prior to sitting down to watch it here in 2025.

In all honesty, then I harbored zero expectations to the movie, as the movie's cover wasn't exactly particularly interesting and had a particularly cheesy 1980s style to it. But I still opted to give the movie a fair chance, as I had never heard about it.

The storyline actually proved to be entertaining enough. Sure, this was nothing outstanding, nor a particularly memorable moment in Western cinema. But writer Austin Snell did manage to put together a script and storyline that turned out to be entertaining and enjoyable for what it was.

As it turned out, I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, and that is actually something that spoke in favor of the movie, as I enjoy watching new and unfamiliar talents on the screen. The acting performances in the movie were fair.

The movie actually had a surprising amount of violence and blood in it. And I have to admit that it definitely helped to add to the overall impression of the movie.

"They Call Her Death" actually looked and felt adequately enough like a proper Western movie. So thumbs up to the wardrobe, props and set crew.

Watchable, no doubt about it, but hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of writer and director Austin Snell's 2024 Western "They Call Her Death" lands on a five out of ten stars.

My title says everything. I will preface, though, by being honest that this movie is NOT for everyone. If you are not into movies that have a Grindhouse feel to them, you will probably NOT like this movie.

The movie is shot on 16mm and has the look of an old western movie. It also has a western setting, but beyond that I don't think it has a lot that makes it a western in any way.

This is a traditional exploitation film. It has a wildly and completely unrealistic premise. It has characters doing things that you would never believe people can do. Hell, it has a black deputy in a small southern town shortly after the Civil War and a woman.. well... I won't tell more.

If you don't like exploitation movies, I can pretty much guarantee you won't like it. But if you do, give it a chance. I am amazed.