In the autumn of 1900, outlaw Claude Barbee puts his 'retirement plan' in action, attempting to lead his train-robbing gang across Texas to recover a cash stash hidden after a botched railro... Read allIn the autumn of 1900, outlaw Claude Barbee puts his 'retirement plan' in action, attempting to lead his train-robbing gang across Texas to recover a cash stash hidden after a botched railroad heist.In the autumn of 1900, outlaw Claude Barbee puts his 'retirement plan' in action, attempting to lead his train-robbing gang across Texas to recover a cash stash hidden after a botched railroad heist.
- Directors
- Writers
- Stars
- Frank 'Blockey' Jackson
- (as Greg Kelly)
- Pearl Nava
- (as Arianne Margot)
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Featured reviews
Some people seem to be complaining about its use of different tones that intersect throughout. Have you watched any of the classic spaghetti westerns?? They almost all had comedy, drama, action, violence, and sometimes even a little horror mixed in there. And I'll have to remind you that Bone Tomahawk was ladened with comedy.
It's unfair to compare it to Bone Tomahawk anyway just because that is considered by some to be a "horror western," and that's the only other one released in the last few months (years?). I read an interview of the film makers where they said Kill Or Be Killed was made two whole years before Bone Tomahawk even started. So there's no way they were inspired by it or even knew about it probably.
If you can handle the fact that it is an independent, and you want a fun popcorn movie set in the old west that tries something new and exciting for a change and isn't your run of the mill story seen 1,000,000 times (ahem, Forsaken, Jane Got a Gun, blah blah), this is well worth your time. You won't be disappointed.
I can't quite tell you what this film is, at best it's a Weird Western and a good one. I did not know what was going to happen next, and the villains were the protagonists so that different as well.
The strong point is the dialogue, Graves and Meeks have created a patois that is completely captivating. I don't know that it's historically accurate, but it felt like it came from another time, and it made a lot of the scenes work.
Someone else can summarize the film, and those reviews are easy to find. I think that it's more important to set the proper expectation for this film. It doesn't fit neatly into any genre and it isn't predictable. If you can live with that, you're going to like this film.
I have to say, these guys are on a drama-level.I haven't heard about any of them but i have to say i was pretty impressed with their performances:).
i very much enjoyed the movie!
Hmpf. OK.
Im not gonna give you a poem!
I'm not a fan of Westerns, with only a few exceptions. I watched this on the recommendation from a friend, and glad I did so. After the first 10 minutes I was worried I would grow bored with the movie and eventually turn it off. However, as I continued to watch I got sucked in deeper and deeper until there was no turning back.
This movie entertains throughout with rare a dull moment. The ending is quite a surprise that I'm betting not many of you will see coming. While it's not a perfect film, it is a great watch that any fan of the genre will appreciate. Good use of budget, good scenery, decent acting (for the most part) and a great story make "Kill or Be Killed" a movie worth watching, even for folks who may not be huge fans of Westerns.
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie's lead character, Claude Barbee, is actually named after the real life Texas outlaw who killed a Deputy in a gunfight on a west Texas ranch in the early 1900's. Barbee, whose brother was a Texas Ranger, fled before being captured, but escaped. He was pursued by Pat Garrett at one point, but gave the lawman the slip and made it out to California, where he lived under an assumed name until he died in 1949.
- GoofsBicycle kid was riding has caliper brakes. Cables visible in the shot.
- Quotes
Claude 'Sweet Tooth' Barbee: On the Enchanted Rock segment that had been deleted. I'm afraid it's gonna be damn near impossible for an outlaw to make an honest living.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Red on Yella, Kill a Fella
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $250,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 43m(103 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1