I only watched one part of this series because, although I thought it was decent enough, it wasn't really to my taste. Taking its characters and conclusion from the world of Red Dead Redemption, this is essentially a fan film with the heart and soul of an exploitation western and horror movie. As such the plot really doesn't matter too much, but basically we have a gang capture Bonnie MacFarlane and threaten to hang her unless one of theirs is released from his cell – oh and delivered to them directly by John Marston himself. What follows is a short build-up and then a bloody action sequence leading to a "find out next time" conclusion.
In terms of being an exploitation film it is certainly not too bad. The acting and delivery matches the genre style and the action allows for excessive bloody and gaudy death sequences which reference Peckinpah, even though the shootouts themselves don't have a great deal of tension because of how focused they are on the squids and slow-motion deaths. This comes with the territory and at least it sticks firm with what it does. The ending ups the ante in a way that will not be too surprising if you know the game, but may not make any sense if you haven't, but it works pretty well as it changes the film but yet allows it to remain in exploitation territory.
The performances and decent enough to do the job while the direction and overall production shows that the makers know their reference points (as indeed did those that made the game RDR). Worth a look as a trashy exploitation film with the only downside being is that it never really becomes more than that.
In terms of being an exploitation film it is certainly not too bad. The acting and delivery matches the genre style and the action allows for excessive bloody and gaudy death sequences which reference Peckinpah, even though the shootouts themselves don't have a great deal of tension because of how focused they are on the squids and slow-motion deaths. This comes with the territory and at least it sticks firm with what it does. The ending ups the ante in a way that will not be too surprising if you know the game, but may not make any sense if you haven't, but it works pretty well as it changes the film but yet allows it to remain in exploitation territory.
The performances and decent enough to do the job while the direction and overall production shows that the makers know their reference points (as indeed did those that made the game RDR). Worth a look as a trashy exploitation film with the only downside being is that it never really becomes more than that.
