Tim Sauer is Capt. Rhodes, a young cavalry officer given a difficult assignment — head deep into Apache territory to find out what happened to a detachment of 12 men that disappeared months earlier.
It’s of particular importance because the detachment was led by 1st Lt. Calib Bellnap, son of the U.S. secretary of war.
And Rhodes needs to accomplish the mission with just two men under his command — Sgt. Mahon and tracker Joseph Proudfoot — and no horses.
He’s heading into a southwest territory in turmoil because a whore-turned-outlaw named Bessie (Celeste Luccitti) and her lover Harley have killed the son of an Indian chief.
Now the chief has put a $5,000 bounty on the heads of those responsible for his son’s death.
That merely attracts more guns to the area, including those of bounty hunters Banks and Wallace, who manage to kill Harley and take Bessie captive.
But it soon becomes apparent that there are evil spirits lurking about as well. Spirits who have created a world where the dead don’t always stay dead.
That includes 1st Lt. Bellnap, who had his heart cut out, only to have another put in its place.
Why?
So that he can mate with a pretty blonde named Constance to breed a child that will give the Ghost Witch — once an Aztec goddess — a vessel into the real world.
Tim Sauer as Capt. Rhodes, held at gunpoint by a man who should be dead in Blood Totem (2026)
Celeste Luccitti as Bessie, wounded and trying to survive the barren southwest in Blood Totem (2026)
Review:
Yet another mix of horror and Western, this film gets off to a promising start thanks to a pretty witty script and a spirited performance by Celeste Luccitti as Bessie.
Ah, but then, unfortunately, the otherwordly elements enter the picture.
And rather than running for the hills like any sensible character would, the stars in this film decide to play along.
Which quickly devolves into a confusing mess in which part of the cast is dead, part is still living and many are caught somewhere in between.
And in which everyone has to pretend to be startled by the unconvincing special effects all around them.
This marks the fourth Western from Robert Conway, following “Skinwalker” (2021), “Eminence Hill” (2019) and “Redemption” (2009).
Edward Rodriquez as Joseph Proudfoot and Liza Davis as Sgt. Mahon, the two men serving under Capt. Rhodes in Blood Totem (2026)
Frank Prell as 1st Lt. Calib Bellnap, unsure why he’s still living after an Apache chief cut out his heart in Blood Totem (2026)
Directed by:
Robert Conway
Cast:
Tim Sauer … Capt. Rhodes
Celeste Luccitti … Bessie
Frank Prell … Calib
Brittany Mae … Constance
Angel Ruiz … Cruzado
Edward Rodriquiz … Joseph Proudfoot
Liza Davis … Sgt. Mahon
Patrick Michaelsen … Jude
Christopher Beeman … Wallace
Charlie E. Motley … Banks
Victorio Pope … Taza
Parker Stewart … Harley
John Marrs … Col. Burnside
Dan Weisgerber … Gen. Crook
Adrianna Licitra … Anna
Daniel Link … Godsworth
Cory Busboom … Sergeant
Halemano Dehose … Taza’s son
Drell Dean … Apache warrior
Darek Riley … Apache warrior
Runtime: 81 min.
Brittany Mae as Constance, meeting 1st Lt. Calib Bellnap in Blood Totem (2026)
Patrick Michaelsen as Jude, trying to arrange the breeding of his sister for the ghost witch in Blood Totem (2026)
Memorable lines:
Col. Burnside to Capt. Rhodes: “So find the politician’s son, preferably alive, but a verifiable corpse will do.”
Bessie: “Know what the Apache do to one marked for death?”
Wallace, one of the bounty men planning to turn her over to the Apache: “Nothing good, I suppose.”
Bessie: “They cut off his man parts. Stick and balls, cast ’em into an open fire. After which, they stab him a hundred times with pointed sticks ’til he’s leaking like a sieve. Finally, they bind him to the pryor and roast him alive.”
Wallace: “Damn. Guess it’s good that you’re a woman, then.”
Bessie: “Yeah. Lucky me.”
Constance to 1st Lt. Calib Bellnap: “Fear not, young soldier. Soon, all will be made plain to you.”
Capt. Rhodes, in the midst of an arduous journey: “Look, I don’t know anything about the dead. But the living, we need to take a rest.”
Angel Ruiz as Cruzado, the gunman who leads Capt. Rhodes and his men into the spirit world in Blood Totem (2026)
Charlie E. Motley as Banks, leader of the bounty hunters in Blood Totem (2026)
Christopher Beeman as Wallace, one of the bounty hunters seeking the killers of an Apache chief’s son in Blood Totem (2026)
Parker Stewart as Harley, returned from the dead to visit his lover Bessie in Blood Totem (2026)
Victorio Pope as Taza, the Apache chief who has somehow managed to offer a $5,00 bounty on the killers of his son in Blood Totem (2026)
John Marrs as Col. Burnside, wondering if the report on Rhodes’ mission was written by someone who’s crazy in Blood Totem (2026)
Dan Weisgerber as Gen. Crook, giving Capt. Rhodes his assignment in Blood Totem (2026)
Celeste Luccitti as Bessie, trying to escape by holding a gun to the head of bounty hunter Wallace (Christopher Beeman) in Blood Totem (2026)
){kind=link}