Dead in Tombstone
| Dead in Tombstone | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roel Reiné |
| Produced by | Mike Elliott |
| Written by |
Shane Kuhn Brendan Cowles |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Hybrid |
| Cinematography | Roel Reiné |
| Edited by | Radu Ion |
Production company |
Universal 1440 Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
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 monologue on the West, or the "New Frontier", as Lucifer describes it 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. Big-time crook Red Cavanaugh 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. The gang members, each of whom has a hefty cash bounty, massacres the lawmen and rescue Red. Following this feat, Red proposes that they raid Edendale, a small Colorado mining town known for its gold mine. A mineral rights dispute has led the sheriff to place the disputed riches in the bank, which Red states they can easily rob.
Although the bank robbery goes smoothly, the sheriff's men engage in a gunfight with the Blackwater Gang. The criminals emerge victorious, and Red kills Sheriff Bob Massey, going against De La Cruz's order to avoid unnecessary deaths. Anxious, De La Cruz demands that they leave Edendale, but Red double-crosses him; after he shoots De La Cruz, Red explains that he plans to take over Edendale and its mine, to which he holds the deed. A dying De La Cruz urges the rest of the gang to shoot the traitor, but Red offers to share his power and riches with them. The rest of the gang turns on De La Cruz and shoot him. With his dying breath, the ousted leader promises to meet them again in Hell. The next day after lowering De La Cruz's coffin, Red changes the town's name to Tombstone.
Condemned for eternity, De La Cruz ends up in Hell, where Lucifer tortures him. De La Cruz offers a bargain: in return for his freedom, he will, within 24 hours, deliver the rest of the gang: Red, Baptiste, Ramos, Washington, Snake, and Darko. Tombstone has degenerated into a lawless area, where Red and his gang indulge themselves. At exactly midnight, De La Cruz rises from his grave and avenges his own death by killing Baptiste and Ramos. Red promises to kill the perpetrator, not knowing or caring 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 again. A heated shootout ensues; Darko dies, De La Cruz survives, and Red flees. When Calathea Massey, the sheriff's widow, confronts Red, De La Cruz stops her before she can kill Red, as De La Cruz's bargain requires him to personally kill the gang members.
De La Cruz is tipped off on Red's current hideout place, and, with Calathea's help, he assaults the gold mine. There, he learns that Red and corrupt businessman Judah Clark struck a bargain, which is why Red has been able to stay in power for so long. Clark and Red leave the mine; De La Cruz and Calathea fight through Red's and Clark's henchmen, killing another gang member. With time running out, De La Cruz returns to town but is killed before he can confront Red. Amused, Lucifer resurrects De La Cruz once again and warns him that he has only one hour left. A riot breaks out in Tombstone; when Clark attempts to distance himself from Red, Red kills Clark, takes Calathea hostage, and attempts to leave town. Red and De La Cruz engage in a showdown, but Lucifer causes all the bullets to miss; furious, De La Cruz engages Red in hand-to-hand combat and kills him. With the entire gang dead, De La Cruz says his debt is paid, but Lucifer states that De La Cruz was two minutes late; in order to fulfill his debt, he must forever be Lucifer's bounty hunter.
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.[2] The film was directed by Roel Reine and written by Shane Kuhn and Brendan Cowles.[3] Filming commenced in around April 2012. Filming locations included Bucharest, Romania.[2]
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.[1][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
Earlier reports stated 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.[2] It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 22, 2013.[1]
Reception
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] Scott Weinberg of Fearnet called it "visually amusing but narratively arid".[7] Tyler Foster of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the film wastes a great idea with inept directing.[8] Patrick Naugle of DVD Verdict wrote that the execution does not live up to the "fascinating concept".[9] David Maine of Pop Matters rated it 6/10 stars and called it enjoyable for what it is.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Abraham, Anthony (October 9, 2013). "'Dead in Tombstone' Soundtrack Sets Release Date (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "From the Set of Dead in Tombstone, Starring Danny Trejo". ComingSoon.net. October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Fleming, Jr. (March 15, 2012). "Anthony Michael Hall, Danny Trejo, Mickey Rourke Set For ‘Dead In Tombstone’". Deadline. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ "‘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. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Weinberg, Scott (October 28, 2013). "FEARNET Movie Review: 'Dead in Tombstone'". Fearnet. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Foster, Tyler (October 13, 2013). "Dead in Tombstone [Unrated] (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Naugle, Patrick (October 29, 2013). "Dead in Tombstone (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Maine, David. "Dead in Tombstone". Pop Matters. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
External links
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