Dead in Tombstone
| Dead in Tombstone | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roel Reiné |
| Written by |
Shane Kuhn Brendan Cowles |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Hybrid |
| Studio | Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release dates | October 22, 2013 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dead in Tombstone is a 2013 American direct-to-video action-horror western film produced by Universal 1440 Entertainment. It was directed by Roel Reiné and written by Shane Kuhn and Brendan Cowles. The film stars Danny Trejo as Guerrero, a gang leader who gets double-crossed by his fellow gang members. Striking a pact with the Devil after entering Hell, he resurfaces to the earthly world to avenge his own death by killing the men who murdered him. The film was released in home media on October 22, 2013.
Plot
The film begins with a narration on the West, or the "New Frontier", described by the narrator — Lucifer (Mickey Rourke), one of the seven Princes of Hell, — as a "heartless, lawless viper pit", contrary to popular belief that it is made up of "god-fearing" good folk. Lucifer goes on to justify why the West is an "American nightmare".
The film pans to an execution in the West taking place. Big-time crook Red Cavanaugh (Anthony Michael Hall) is seconds from being given the noose, but he is saved from death by the six members of his gang, the Blackwater Gang, led by the notorious outlaw Guerrero De La Cruz (Danny Trejo), who has a hefty cash bounty hanging above his head. The gang massacres the law enforcement parties present and rescue Red. Following this successful feat, Red proposes that they take over Edendale, a small Colorado mining town, known for its supply of precious stones. Internal disunity has been rife in Edendale, with its people disputing over mineral rights. Red convinces De La Cruz to rob the Edendale Bank, which houses a lucrative vault of gold and other minerals and cash.
The team pulls off the first half of the operation, that is entering the bank, smoothly. However, after they detonate the safe, the sheriff's men engage in a gunfight with the Blackwater Gang. The criminals emerge as victor, and Red kills Sheriff Bob Massey (Danielle Lapaine), going against De La Cruz's order to not harm anybody. De La Cruz gets anxious and demands that they leave Edendale. He gets double-crossed by Red, who shoots him. Red has plans to take over Edendale and usurp the title of "town Jesus H. Christ". A dying De La Cruz urges the rest of the gang to shoot the traitor, but Red coerces them not to, promising them that under his leadership will they become wealthy. Under Red's influence, the rest of the gang also starts to fire shots at De La Cruz and eventually leave his body for dead. In his dying breath, the ousted leader promises to meet them again in Hell, just as the clock strikes twelve midnight. The next day after lowering De La Cruz's coffin, Red decides without consensus that Edendale's name has changed to Tombstone.
Condemned for eternity, De La Cruz ends up meeting Lucifer in Hell. The fallen angel tortures De La Cruz, who begs for mercy. Upon the latter's plea, Lucifer agrees to give De La Cruz 24 hours to bring him the six souls of the remaining Blackwater Gang — Red, Baptiste, Ramos, Washington, Snake, and Darko . Back in Tombstone, the place has become a lawless area, where Red and his gang indulge in riches, booze and lust. At exactly midnight, De La Cruz rises from his grave. He starts avenging his own death by killing Baptiste and Ramos. Red is alerted and promises to kill the perpetrator, not knowing who he is. They find De La Cruz waiting for them at the saloon. Shocked at his half-brother's resurrection, Red attempts to kill him for the second time. A heated shootout ensues, killing Darko; De La Cruz survives while Red flees the location only to get halted in his tracks by Calathea Massey, the Sheriff's wife, who wishes to shoot him to avenge her spouse's murder at the hands of Red. Knowing that only he can kill the six men, De La Cruz rushes out in time to stop her, letting Red escape.
De La Cruz is tipped off on Red's current hideout place — the gold mines of Tombstone. Enlisting the Sheriff's wife's help, the vengeful man tracks Red down and gate-crashes into the mines. There, it is revealed that Red has been receiving protection from corrupt businessman Judah Clark and his henchmen in exchange for control of the gold mines. Clark leaves with Red after the gold is paid up. Washington is then silently killed by De La Cruz, who had been hiding in a mine cart piled up with corpses. The remaining men chase after De La Cruz and the Sheriff's wife. With five hours left, the former gang leader uses explosives in Washington's bag to eliminate some of the opposing belligerents. Finally they return to Tombstone. The Sheriff's wife is taken hostage by Red. De La Cruz hunts him down and kills him after a long fight. Placing all the corpses in separate coffins, the six souls are effectively sent down to Hell. Satisfied, Lucifer grants him back his life, as he proceeds to torture the rest of the Blackwater Gang.
Cast
- Danny Trejo as Guerrero De La Cruz, the betrayed and fallen leader of the Blackwater Gang. He has been resurrected by Lucifer as an undead vigilante in order to find and kill the members of Blackwater so that Lucifer can collect their souls.
- Anthony Michael Hall as Red Cavanaugh, De La Cruz's half-brother.
- Mickey Rourke as Lucifer, a proud, fallen rebel archangel and one of the seven princes of hell, known among mortals as the Devil or Satan. Lucifer offers Guerrero a chance at redemption by sending him back to earth and giving him a mission to hunt down his old gang so that he can collect their souls.
- Dina Meyer as Calathea Massey, wife of Edendale's Sheriff.
- Edward Akrout as Snake, De la Cruz's gang member.
Production
Danny Trejo signed on as Guerrero, leader of the Blackwater Gang. Anthony Michael Hall played Guerrero's traitorous half-brother Red. Mickey Rourke was cast as The Devil.[1] The film was directed by Roel Reine and written by Shane Kuhn and Brendan Cowles.[2] Filming commenced in around April 2012. Filming locations included Bucharest, Romania.[1]
Music
For the film's music, director Reine wanted "a contemporary score for a traditional film with a unique twist". The music was composed by the United Kingdom-based electronic music act Hybrid, comprising Michael Truman, Chris Healings and Charlotte James. The soundtrack was released on October 15, 2013, by Back Lot Records.[3]
- Track listing[4]
| Soundtrack | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Meet The Blacksmith" | |||||||||
| 2. | "Beat The Devil’s Tattoo" | |||||||||
| 3. | "The River To Edendale" | |||||||||
| 4. | "Gunfighters Are In Town" | |||||||||
| 5. | "No Need To Be A Hero" | |||||||||
| 6. | "I Shot The Sheriff" | |||||||||
| 7. | "Deal With The Devil" | |||||||||
| 8. | "Guerrero Is Back" | |||||||||
| 9. | "Clock Starts Ticking" | |||||||||
| 10. | "The Meat Market" | |||||||||
| 11. | "They Killed My Husband" | |||||||||
| 12. | "Blackwater Siege" | |||||||||
| 13. | "It's Been A While" | |||||||||
| 14. | "Stay Sharp Guerrero" | |||||||||
| 15. | "Odds Favour House" | |||||||||
| 16. | "He’s My Brother" | |||||||||
| 17. | "Washington" | |||||||||
| 18. | "The Chase" | |||||||||
| 19. | "This Is The West" | |||||||||
| 20. | "Six Feet Under" | |||||||||
Release and reception
Earlier reports claimed that the film would be released in December 2012.[5] This proved to be untrue. Dead in Tombstone was first released on digital download platforms on October 8, 2013.[1] It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 22, 2013.[3] Ed Blackadder of Influx Magazine rated the film C+, comparing the film's premise to that of the film Pale Rider (1985), starring Clint Eastwood. Regarding Danny Trejo, Blackadder wrote, "[Trejo is] good when in the right sort of film, and he was certainly adequate in this flick." He praised the film's photography and the "not bad" direction, concluding that while it was worthwhile to watch, it nevertheless "lacked in something to give it an edge, over other films of this type".[6]
See also
-
Film portal
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "From the Set of Dead in Tombstone, Starring Danny Trejo". ComingSoon.net. October 4, 2013.
- ↑ Fleming, Jr. (March 15, 2012). "Anthony Michael Hall, Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke Set For ‘Dead In Tombstone’". Deadline.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Abraham, Anthony (October 9, 2013). "'Dead in Tombstone' Soundtrack Sets Release Date (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ "‘Dead in Tombstone’ Soundtrack Announced". Film Music Reporter. October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ↑ Chitwood, Adam. "First Trailer for Western DEAD IN TOMBSTONE Starring Danny Trejo, Anthony Michael Hall, and Mickey Rourke". Collider.
- ↑ Blackadder, Ed. "Dead in Tombstone (DVD)". Influx Magazine.
External links
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