David Novak is John Williams, who stops by for a visit with his grandchildren and stumbles upon the scene of a massacre.
Both of his grandsons are dead or dying. So are their parents. The only family member unaccounted for is his teenage granddaughter Mary.
So he heads for the town of Chugwood, hoping for help in finding his granddaughter and those responsible for the killings.
Specifically, he’s looking for estranged brother-in-law Everett Stolls, an expert tracker known to spend time in the Chugwood bawdy house.
Stolls still blames Williams for his wife’s death years earlier. But he agrees to go on the journey. They’re also joined by Miller, a town leader in Chugwood.
Stolls and Williams eventually learn they have a common enemy.
And it turns out Mary’s other family members were killed because her father spoke out at trail against the grandson of Eli Kilpatrick (Tyler Tuck), the man who’s now her captor.
David Novak as John Williams, desperate to find his kidnapped granddaughter in Among the Willows (2023)
Jeffrey Smith as Everett Stolls, the ex-brother-in-law reunited with John Williams in Among the Willows (2023)
Review:
A low-budget Western that might not make you cringe too much. But here’s betting you won’t get a hankering to give it a second spin anytime soon.
Some tips for the filmmakers …
First, if a large part of your movie is going to be filmed in a town, splurge on some extras so it doesn’t look so deserted.
Second, if you’re going to rely heavily on flashbacks, find a second set of actors to play the characters when they were much younger. Or a great makeup artist to make them look that way.
This film had neither. If does feature a silly plot twist and a villain who looks too young to have fathered such a plot twist.
Bright spots include Tyler Tuck as that villain, Jener Dasilva as a young member of his gang and a host of spunky performances by the female cast members.
Those include Akilah M. and Sparkle Soojian as whores in a town so devoid of men that they’d have plenty of time to practice being spunky even if every guy around stopped by once a day for a good ol’ Tennessee tuck and roll.
Tyler Tuck as Eli Kilpatrick, feeling a vicious mood coming on yet again in Among the Willows (2023)
Mackenzie Fouts as Mary Cronon, pleading for her freedom with a member of the outlaw gang in Among the Willows (2023)
Directed by:
Tyler Smith
Cast:
David Novak … John Williams
Jeffrey Smith … Everett Stolls
Mackenzie Fouts … Mary Cronon
Tyler Tuck … Eli Kilpatrick
Jener Dasilva … Tom
Lon Hannah … Miller
Akilah M. … Suzie
Sparkle Soojian … Mae
Caryn Richman … Sarah Johnson
D.T. Carney … Luther Johnson
Jim Tuck … Mr. Kilpatrick
Wade Pierson … Spence
Thomas DeLaCruz … Hiram
Brandon Baker … Martin Cronon
Samantha Wolf … Emma Cronon
Gavin Caglia … Nelson Cronon
Jacob Fisher … William Cronon
Darrell Mapson … Marshal Briggs
Danielle Harper … Evey Stolls
Runtime: 88 min.
Jener Dasilva as Tom, a member of the outlaw gang helping Mary escape Eli’s clutches in Among the Willows (2023)
Jim Tuck as Mr. Kilpatrick, distraught over his grandson’s conviction for murder in Among the Willows (2023)
Memorable lines:
Everett Stolls: “What are you gonna do when we find these boys, John? Are you gonna kill ’em? You keep that hog leg tied to your hip, but you never pull it. I won’t be your assassin, John.”
Miller: “I’ll put you up the night. You will be warm. I don’t provide the Tennessee tuck and roll.”
John Williams: “That’s a good thing.”
Miller: “Pard, that’s tragic. You done seen a mess of sorrowful events in your time.”
Mary: “I don’t know you. Yet you have inflicted so much pain and misery on me.”
Eli Kilpatrick: “You’ve got quite the mouth on you. That’s going to lead you to your ruin.”
John Williams, knowing Everett’s itching to spend time with Suzie, his favorite whore: “Stay on task, Everett. Stay on task.”
Lon Hannah as Miller, a town leader warning John Williams of the danger of trying to track his granddaughter in the dark in Among the WIllows (2023)
Akilah M. as Suzie and Sparkle Soojian as Mae, whores concerned about the new visitor to their brothel in Among the Willows (2023)
Caryn Richman as Sarah Johnson, wary of the three strangers approaching her home in Among the Willows (2023)
Danielle Harper as Evey Stolls, making the mistake of taunting the volatile Eli Kilpatrick in Among the Willows (2023)
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