Weird Westerns is an exploration of the hybrid western genre—an increasingly popular and visible form that mixes western themes, iconography, settings, and conventions with elements drawn from other genres, such as science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Film critic Pauline Kael’s review led to the birth of the term ‘Acid Western’ and you can feel El Topo in the subsequent films that would make that term a bonafide subgenre. Here’s our list of ten essential cult Westerns, big and small, to watch if you want to get a better understanding of film history. Third book in the Test Patterns series explores the frontier days of the Wild West. Its very existence still feels a little miraculous to this day. Westerns are a hallmark of American cinema, but some of the genre's best examples are anything but generic or traditional. Weird Westerns. Watch ‘Friday the 13th: Jason Lives’ at the Actual Crystal Lake Filming Location in Georgia This August! I’ve talked about Territory before in this column, but it’s still a great example of the genre. The original title ran … These 10 films are a perfect primer into the world of horror westerns. (Or if you just really like good movies.). BEGIN SLIDESHOW. Mark has been a writer and editor for ScreenRant's lists section since 2019 and leads the Update Team, keeping content fresh and relevant. The unlikely pair gather around the campfire to tell each other four tales of terror. Like pretty much all anthologies, it’s a mixed bag. Alex Cox’s 1987 sorta-biopic about William Walker’s disastrous filibustering–and short-lived takeover–of Nicaragua starts out as a semi-respectable, if left-field, Hollywood prestige period piece, sporting both a score from The Clash frontman Joe Strummer and a screenplay from Pat Garret and Billy the Kid writer Rudy Wurlitzer. Race, Gender, Genre. It features Charles … Before video game writer J.T. Of all the many subsets and genre mashups of horror, the horror western seems like a match made in heaven. With a cast full of names like Clancy Brown, Doug Hutchison, Jocelin Donahue, and more, The Burrowers follows a rescue party in search of a family that went missing under strange circumstances from a still unexplored territory. The Aurora Encounter (1985) purports to tell the true story of a UFO landing out West. BAD KIDS OF THE WEST (1967) – Even for a Spaghetti Western this movie is weird, weird, weird. https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/28/the-10-funniest-comedy-westerns Plenty of gunsmoke shall follow… But the interactions between Dourif and Jones are amazing. Director:Robert Zemeckis|Stars:Michael J. If you have a soft spot for schlocky ‘80s horror, this is for you. Based on a story by David Schmoeller (Tourist Trap), Ghost Town is a fun Western movie that takes a literal interpretation to the ghost town. Evil Animatronics in the Bloody ‘Willy’s Wonderland’ Trailer You’ve Been Waiting For! Considering how iconic Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder have become in their lead roles as Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid, it’s strange to think that neither actor was Brooks’ first choice. A large section of it revolves around deliberately inflammatory remarks which  Jodorowsky made while promoting the movie and they have become almost mythologized over time. Low budget and full of surrealistic imagery, Eyes of Fire is a unique entry in the horror western. Not only was it probably the source of the genre’s name, it also chronicled the earliest adventures of the most iconic cowboy in comics: Jonah Hex. 13 of the Weirdest Westerns Ever Made. 'Mystery Ranch' (1932). Another neo-western horror movie, this time by John Carpenter. The isolation, the ever-present danger of starvation or brutal conditions, and the general rougher way of life in westerns make for a great foundation for horror stories. 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Deadstock is a supernatural Western that combines gothic horror with the truly bizarre … Bird would claim that this familiar experience of Hollywood backstabbing would inform her understanding of Ted Griffin’s screenplay about cannibalism in the Sierra Nevada and, despite Bird feeling locked out by producers in the end herself, Ravenous came out as weird as a big studio movie ever can. What better way to start Frontierado Week than with a look at some of the most obscure but laughably weird Italian westerns? Low budget and full of surrealistic imagery, Eyes of Fire is a unique… This dark Western has the feel of a Gothic horror movie. Their journey takes them into Shawnee territory, a hostile tribe very unhappy about the trespass. The history of movie Westerns more or less begins with the end of the Old West itself. Along With the Feature Film, a “Dungeons & Dragons” TV Series is Also in the Works! But this plantation is deserted for a reason- it’s home to bizarre, near Lovecraftian supernatural forces. With original Waco Kid, Gig Young, collapsing on the first day of shooting and studio executives refusing to insure the movie’s co-writer, Richard Pryor, for the role of Bart. Lucky for you, it’s currently streaming on Tubi, Kanopy, and Prime Video. The Best of the Weird Western This Halloween, set aside Stephen King’s The Dark Tower and watch these solid Westerns. Frontier living is harsh, but throwing horror into the mix makes it downright brutal. Territory Emma Bull practically invented the urban fantasy genre with War for the Oaks, so it’s perhaps fitting that she would take a shot at mixing fantasy and westerns. The best Weird Westerns, of course do this. Sergio Corbucci’s remarkably bleak Spaghetti Western is remembered in popular culture either for its nihilistic ending or for the influence that it’s had on the genre as a whole. RELATED: 10 Greatest Spaghetti Westerns, Ranked. The lead performances from Jean-Louis Trintignant as the titular gunslinger–who, as you may have inferred, doesn’t speak anyway–and Klaus Kinski’s unforgettable villain are intensified by the style though, and it brings the two unique actors together in a very unique way. Antonia Bird wasn’t the original choice to helm this odd Western horror movie. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s hugely influential Western from 1970 is often credited as the first-ever ‘Midnight Movie’ and it became a byword for controversial weirdness in a legacy that endures to this day. Martin Scorsese would later assess Johnny Guitar as “an example of a minor film, grown to achieve the status of a classic” adding that, in the US, “people didn’t know what to make of it, so they either ignored it or laughed at it.”. It found instant acclaim among the budding French New Wave directors, but it was initially panned by critics on its release in America. Mascot’s delightfully nutty 1935 serial made a star of Gene Autry. On Friday, IFC Midnight is releasing Emmi Tammi’s The Wind, a western frontier set horror film in which its lead might be dealing with a demonic presence. There have been several films dealing with the arrival of aliens in the West with High Plains Invaders (2009), Cowboys & Aliens (2011) and Alien Showdown: The Day the Old West Stood Still (2013). Madness, chaos, and death ensues. When not either writing or editing, he can most likely be found complaining about movies on Twitter. Hope you don’t mind none.” Severen (Bill Paxton) is one mean, scene-stealing vampire. It follows Tommy Lee Jones’ Texas ranch hand as he seeks to avenge the unjust murder of his friend, the titular Melquiades Estrada, at the hands of Barry Pepper’s border patrol agent. 1972’s Chato’s Land was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between tough guy screen icon Charles Bronson and eccentric director Michael Winner. Predator Outfit Releases Tomorrow For ‘Fortnite’? It’s fast-paced, entertaining, and it has bite. After being turned by her, he’s reluctantly forced to join her bloodthirsty family as they travel across the country in an RV, leaving a path of destruction and dead bodies in their wake. He’s then whisked back in time and forced to square off against the zombie-like Devlin, an outlaw who made a pact with the Devil and forever trapped the town in purgatory. And both the western and horror genres are fond of exploring unknown frontiers. It's an experience that could comfortably be called timeless. When the outpost dispatches a rescue party, well, they find themselves prey to a sadistic cannibal instead. 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For more bad movie reviews see my Bad Movie page. Its unrepentant weirdness and unabashed politics have, however, caused it to endure and find greater appreciation over the years. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson. So subversive and explosive was his image that it ended up being Ride the High Country, by far his most normal-looking Western, that ended up sticking out to movie buffs as his cult classic. Quirky humor with an equally quirky score to match, Ravenous charms with its eccentricities and unique spin on Wendigo folklore. There were two or three threads active at the time, and some back and forth about what is or isn't "weird" or ghostly or whatever. The cast is absolutely stacked, too; Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, Neal McDonough and more star. 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