Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Written/Directed by Austin Snell
They Call Her Death is a gore-filled, action packed love letter to revenge westerns from days gone by. Entirely shot on 16MM film (thanks, Kodak!) using gear from the 1960s making the whole film positively drip with vintage style.
They Call Her Death: The Players
- Sheri Rippel [Zombie Beauty Pageant: Drop Dead Gorgeous (2018)]: Molly Pray, wronged widow, revenge seeker. Although they never actually call her Death.
- Jeff Boyer [Blackstone – Hand of God (2022)]: Frank Jaroo, corrupt town sheriff and aspiring corrupt politician.
- Dané Shobe [Zombie Beauty Pageant: Drop Dead Gorgeous (2018)]: Bosley Turner, new deputy in town and a real straight shooter.
- Devan R. Garcia: Diego, cold-blooded bounty hunter and occasional gun for hire.
- Shawn Nyberg [Blackstone – Hand of God (2022)]: JM Winter, the town’s undertaker and the unscrupulous money man behind Sheriff Jaroo.
They Call Her Death: The Breakdown
Synopsis
Molly Pray and her husband Thomas (Patrick Poe) are living a quiet life as pig farmers out on the edge of town. That is, until a bounty hunter shows up to collect the very bloody bounty that’s been put on Thomas’ head.
Widowed, angry, and thirsting for vengeance, Molly cuts a splattery swath through anyone without enough sense to get out of her way. Those who’ve wronged Molly Pray are destined to pay.
Production
The first thing you’ll notice about They Call Her Death is its wonderful texture. Director Snell shot the whole thing on 16MM film using vintage equipment, and the result is like sitting by a warm fire on a cold prairie night. Using actual film stock was a masterstroke as an homage to Westerns of the past.
Additionally, there’s another similarity between most old westerns and They Call Her Death. They got made on the cheap! However, being a low-budget production is part of their charm and fully works in the movie’s favor.
Undeniably, production quality on They Call Her Death can be a bit hit-or-miss. While the audio is often surprisingly good, considering the number of different environments being used, the special effects and makeup work can occasionally show the movie’s budgetary restraints. In its defense, though, most of these more cost-effective visuals only add to the film’s charm and humor.
Cast and Story
The acting in They Call Her Death is obviously going to be a bit rough around the edges. Low-budget indie films are the perfect starting point for brand-new or mostly inexperienced actors, and this one’s no different. That being said, there are a couple of standout performances—namely, Sheri Rippel as the violent widow and Jeff Boyer as the we-can’t-wait-for-him-to-die evil sheriff.
By and large, editing in They Call Her Death — which is also handled by the multi-talented Austin Snell — is deftly executed. Sure, there’s a particular gunfight that runs a bit long and the professional wrestling scene is somewhat distracting, but for the most part, They Call Her Death hums along like a steam-powered locomotive.
Summary
They Call Her Death is a joyously gory, splatterfest of a western that’s bound to surprise its viewers. There’s no worrying about twists and turns; it’s just good old-fashioned storytelling. It’s leaning back in its chair with its dusty boots on the table while spinning a tall tale for the rest of the whiskey-drinking cowpokes in the ol’ saloon.
Review by Robert Zilbauer.