I am downright amazed we haven’t had a resurgence in the Western genre. For close to a decade Western’s were the Marvel movies of Hollywood output, saturating box office options throughout the 60s and 70s. After that time, the gunslinger was noticeably absent from screens with the exception of a few high profile films spattered throughout (Tombstone being my personal favorite).
When you consider the recent popularity of shows like Yellowstone and it’s spin-offs as well as games like Red Dead Redemption 2 it’s pretty clear that the public has a hunger for the genre. Thankfully for those going through tumbleweed withdrawal Brian Skiba’s upcoming film Dead Man’s Hand should scratch that itch.
Dead Man’s Hand sees Reno, a gunfighter trying to escape his old life, pulled back into the fray when he and his new bride are accosted by a group of bandits who he kills in self defense. The movie has all of the makings of your classic western, gunfighter’s good and bad, a solid revenge background, corrupt local politicians and plenty of bullets to go around. In terms of cast the film seems to have done alright, booking Stephen Dorff as the big bad, Cole Hauser as the corrupt mayor and genre legacy Jack Kilmer (who doesn’t have Val’s Doc Holiday in their top 5 performances?) as our heroic gunfighter.
Sure to be a fun watch, check out the trailer below and look for Dead Man’s Hand in theaters and on digital July 7th, 2023!
