Black Wood (2022)

Bates Wilder is Dutch Wilder, leader of an outlaw gang who rides into a small town expecting to get paid for fetching an important document for someone named Pickerton.

Pickerton turns out to be a feisty woman. And instead of paying Dutch in cash, she offers information about where he can find a mountain of gold that will make them all rich.

She even plans to send along her bodyguard, Wallace Price, who has a map indicating where that gold might be found.

Dutch reluctantly accepts the offer. But first he’s determined to track down whoever just killed one of his gang members and stole the man’s horse.

That someone turns out to be a young Indian woman named Dowanhowee (Tanajsia Slaughter), who felt justified in taking back a pinto stolen during a brutal attack on her village.

The chase leads to the outskirts of the Black Wood Forest, precisely where the gold expedition was heading anyway.

It’s also a land of legend. A mysterious force is supposed to be roaming the forest, killing and devouring everything it encounters.

Dutch and his gang soon begin to think that’s more than a legend.

And having captured Dowanhowee, they think she might be helpful in guiding them safely through the forest.

She might be helpful in locating the gold as well. If anyone survives to hunt for it.

Bates Wilder as Dutch Wilder, convinced to enter the Black Wood in search of gold in Black Wood (2022)

Tanajsaia Slaughter as Dowanhowee with the horse she stole back from Wilder’s gang in Black Wood (2022)

Review:

Another meshing of the Western and horror genres, this works better than most films of the ilk.

That’s largely because of a gritty script and standout performances from Bates Wilder as Dutch and George Thomas Mansel as Lester.

The former is haunted by his violent past; the latter is forever bickering with his fellow gang members.

Tanajsia Slaughter is the film’s human pin cushion. Over the course of the film, she’s shot by Dutch, shot by a bow and arrow and nearly scalped alive by Lester. She’s also the film’s most sympathetic character.

The film’s biggest problem is the flawed opening premise. Given the legend of the Black Wood forest — one Pickerton warns him about — why would Dutch ever agree to head there in a search for gold rather than demanding payment for services already rendered?

George Thomas Mansel as Lester, looking to bring a horse thief to justice in Black Wood (2022)

Casey Birdinground as Two Feathers, searching for a mysterious creature in the forest in Black Wood (2022)

Directed by:
Chris Canfield

Cast:
Bates Wilder … Dutch Wilder
Glenn Morshower … Wallace Price
Stelio Savante … Henri
Tanajsia Slaughter … Dowanhowee
George Thomas Mansel … Lester
Casey Birdinground … Two Feather
David “Shark” Fralick … Wendigo / Tommy
Andrew Stecker … Oryen Roberts
Kara Rainer … Sally Pickerton
Nicholas E. Schultz … Edward
Irene Alexiou … Wendy

Runtime: 98 min.

aka:
BlackWood

Stelio Savante as Henri, concerned about whatever Dutch saw in the forest in Black Wood (2022)

Andrew Stecker as Oryen Roberts, in a disagreement with another gang member in Black Wood (2022)

Memorable lines:

Dutch Wilder: “Ma’am, you’ll have to find another lap to sit in. This is a man’s conversation here.”
Sally Pickerton: “I hope I’m speaking to one. ‘Cause the man I hired went maverick and flopped a simple situation tits up.”

Wallace Price: “You pull that trigger and hell’s fire will rain on you.”
Dutch Wilder: “Wouldn’t be my worse day.”

Wallace Price: “You know how to kill people. And I know how to find shiny things.”

Kara Rainer as Sally Pickerton, the woman who sends Dutch Wilder to Black Wood seeking gold in Black Wood (2022)

Glenn Morshower as Wallace Price, Sally’s representative in the gold-hunting expedition in Black Wood (2022)

Sally Pickerton: “One more thing. There are many legends about the Black Wood. So as you travel forth from here, please take caution. Let’s hope those stories I’ve heard are not true.”

Wallace Price: “Life’s like a wild mare. Always tryin’ to buck us off.”

Wallace Price: “I have to map to your salvation. Remember that next time you pull a gun on me.”

Dutch Wilder: “Alright, calm down. Everyone just calm down.”
Henry: “I’m very fucking calmed down. But we have a dead horse up in the tree.”

David ‘Shark’ Fralick as Wendigo, the spirit behind the trouble in Black Wood (2022)

Brian Nelson as Sheriff Clarke, watching Dutch Wilder and his gang arrive in town in Black Wood (2022)

Bates Wilder as Dutch Wilder, explaining how he came to be a small-town outlaw in Black Wood (2022)

Tanajsia Slaughter as Dowanhowee, wounded, nearly scalped and wondering what the future holds in Black Wood (2022)