Six Gun Savior

I had no idea that a film this cheap would get prime time showing here in the UK but there it was, sitting right on the weekday schedules at 9pm. SIX GUN SAVIOUR is an independent film, a cheap horror/western about a slick gunfighter who is revived from death by the devil himself and sent on a mission of justice to take down some nefarious villains.

It's hard to put in words the sheer ineptitude of this cheesy film. The many action scenes are completely laughable especially when some questionable slow motion is brought into play. The acting is poor across the board and poor old Eric Roberts really must be on the skids, agreeing to appear in this level of production (Z-grade as compared to his usual B-grade produce). Worst of all are the terrible CGI effects, particularly the schlocky 'burning' effects when killing characters which are simply terrible. Add in a production so cheap it only has a couple of locations, a non-existent storyline, and plenty of inanity, and you have one rubbish movie.

You either "get it" or you don't. When you do, you appreciate it each time you see it. Fast becoming a cult fav among people who like Scyfi mixed with western, adventure, romance and fun! Now showing everywhere! Catch it!

I immediately watched this when it became available on streaming this past week and I wasn't disappointed at all!! Talk about great action scenes and a weird storyline involving demons and devils...what more could a guy ask for?

Lane McCrae, played to the hilt by Kaleo Griffith, becomes the Devil's (Eric Roberts at his finest) bounty hunter in order to save himself and his brother's life. His mission is to hunt down demons, but gets waylaid by Zaretha (Lorraine Ziff bringing complexity and sexiness to the embodiment of death) that is being controlled by the bad guys for their own nefarious needs. Lane is joined by his girlfriend and two sidekick strangers, Muna and Hawk. Matthew Ziff especially rocks as Hawk, a cowboy confused by all the strange events but willing to pursue the right path with Lane. Many great fight scenes as well for all who enjoy a good Western. Can't wait to watch again, since I can tell this movie reveals more and more each time it's viewed!

This is a little different from a typical Western. While the themes of people dressed as cowboys (it's not clear what their jobs are) riding horses and wanting revenge is fairly typical, the supernatural qualities are unique. There's not that much special here, though.

Lucifer is quite a character. He is more deliciously evil than Dillon, who is just evil. While there aren't a lot of laughs here, Lucifer is sort of funny. And we do have the occasional funny line, such as when someone asks if anyone is ever going to teach Muna English.

Violence is typical for a Western, but many more people die, if you count demons disappearing, and even if you don't. There is what is described as a "massacre", but it is supernatural, not bloody. It is still scary.

Not my taste, but some might enjoy it.

This is a mixed bag of the good the bad and the downright ugly. It's a real hit and miss affair... and, unfortunately, is mostly miss.

The story isn't anything we've not seen before. The Devil buys the soul of our hero and sets him out on a tour of duty chasing down his adversaries. Of course, since this is good old Lucifer we're talking about, there are a few double crosses along the way. Not too bad a tale, though as I said, nothing new.

The Good... I really did enjoy Robert's portrayal of Ol'Scratch himself. He gives off an air of jubilance and arrogance, which suits Beelzebub well. Kove gives a strong performance as "The Mentor", which is a pretty well thought out character as he's as cunning and tricky as a fox. Shame he only appears halfway through. Then there's Maya Tremblay as Muna, the female shaman. Though she's silent for the most part, she's still a strong enough actress to give a character to her portrayal.

The Bad... Rose as Liz Russell is the apotheosis of this film. When we first meet her she is pretty terrible... then a couple of scenes later, she's quite good... throughout the film her acting ability jumps between the two, making the film awkward and disjointed. The directing is just too average. It's not terrible but it's not good either. The horse chases could have been handled a lot better than they were. The same can be said about the fight sequences too. They needed to be better choreographed and acted and filmed. This is where the film is let down the most as these are meant to be exciting but they're not that interesting or invigorating to watch. The music... the director opted for a classic western overture feel. Which may have worked had they had a full orchestra. Then there's the pace of the film. I always thought westerns played too slowly and that was why I loved the spaghetti style better. But this is a supernatural western and as such should have been eerier, tenser, and more atmospheric... but it just felt like a second-rate '50's western, which in this case is bad.

The Ugly... Oh, My God, I don't know which was worse, Matthew Ziff's wooden acting, as the antihero, Kyle "Hawk" Hawkins, or his weak Clint Eastwood accent, which he slipped into when he needed to play the hardened hero. Though, even Matthew Ziff looked like an Oscar nominee for "Best Actor" when he played opposite his mom Lorraine Ziff, who plays the bad girl Zathera; a supernatural being with the ability to pull a person's life-force from them and has the ability to shape-shift. The other thing that was off was the second evil-smiting team. There really wasn't any need for these to be in the film at all. It just appeared a way to get Russ, who played Ezekiel Roak, into the film. It also seemed that we should know these people and have an already formed opinion about them. If that's not the case then they could be planning a spin-off movie with these characters. Either way, it just reeked like a month old Stilton, left out in the sun.

So if you're a fan of westerns, with a supernatural twist, this may be up your street... though I would recommend you wait for a snow day and only then if you've exhausted all other viewing possibilities.