Big Kill (2018)

Christoph Sanders is Jim Andrews, an accountant from Philadelphia who lost his wife in childbirth and heads to Arizona for a fresh start.

His brother runs a saloon in the silver-rich town of Big Kill, and Jim figures that’s a good place for a reunion and a new lease on life.

Along the way he befriends two drifters, gambler Jake Logan (Scott Martin) and womanizer Travis Parker (Clint Hummel) who agree to accompany the tenderfoot on his journey.

But once they arrive in Big Kill, they learn the silver mine has been flooded, the town has fallen on hard times and Jim’s brother, while serving as mayor, no longer owns the saloon.

The town has been turned into a clearing house for stolen beef. And it’s under the thumb of a man known as the Preacher (Jason Patric) and his henchmen, led by fast gun Johnny Kane (Lou Diamond Phillips).

The mayor has a plan to restore respectability to Big Kill. But when that doesn’t work out, Jim and his two new saddlemates are left with a choice: Flee or fight.

And, if they choose the latter, the odds are stacked heavily against them.

Review:

Get past the hokey opening in which Travis beds a general’s daughter and is promptly chased by a small contingent of the Mexican Army and you’ll find that this settles into a pretty entering 2010s Western.

Writer/director Scott Martin and sidekick Clint Hummel provide comic relief as the scoundrels, Christoph Sanders is suitably sincere as the do-gooder, and Jason Patric and Lou Diamond Phillips clearly embrace their roles as the villains of the piece.

Elizabeth McLaughlin plays Josie Strong, the pretty shopkeeper’s daughter who Jim romances. We don’t see nearly enough of Stephanie Beran in the delightful role of Felicia Stiletto, a whore with an evil streak and a penchant for knives.

As for Danny Trejo, he’s featured on the DVD cover, but he plays the Mexican general who’s offended in the opening sequence and never appears again.

Directed by:
Scott Martin

Cast:
Jason Patric … The Preacher
Lou Diamond Phillips … Johnny Kane
Christoph Sanders … Jim Andrews
Scott Martin … Jake Logan
Clint Hummel … Travis Parker
K.C. Clyde … The mayor
Stephanie Beran … Felicia Stiletto
Elizabeth McLaughlin … Josie Strong
Danny Trejo … General Morales
Michael Pare … Col. Granger
Audrey Walters … The madam
Jermaine Washington … Jackson
Dennis LaValle … Malcolm O’Reilly
David Manzanares … Bob Pearson
Sarah Minnich … Olivia
Paul Blott … Digger

Runtime: 126 min.

Memorable lines:

Travis: “That man must really hate you.”
Jake: “Me? I just stole his money. You’re the one who screwed his daughter.”
Travis: “We made love, Jake. And it was a beautiful thing.”
Jake, pointing to Gen. Morales and his approaching men: “Tell him that!”

James, upon reaching his brother’s saloon: “That’s it.”
Travis: “The Easy Lady. I like the name.”

Digger: “I’m Digger. I make pine boxes. I am the last guy who will see your earthly remains.”
Jake: “How’s business?”
Digger: “Been a little too small for my likin’.”

James Anderson: “Isn’t there something strange about this town? We just got here, and they’re already trying to run us out.”
Jake: “Seems pretty normal to me.”

The Preacher to Felicia: “How’d it go?”
Felicia places a severed ear on the card table, then pins it to the table with her knife: “Successful.”
The Preacher: “I’m assuming you spoke into the other ear?”

The Preacher: “I see the world for what it is, not what I wish it would be.”

The Preacher: “Wealth is worthless on the day of the wrath.”

Travis: “Jesus, Jim, could you get a bigger gun?”
James Anderson: “If I’m lucky enough to hit someone, I want it to count.”

Josie: “You two stay out of trouble now?”
Jake of he and Travis: “We always try to.”