Day of the Stranger (2019)

Dale Sheppard is bounty hunter Caine Farrowood, whose last assignment went awry when his horse was shot and the man he was after committed suicide, leaving him with no way to bring the body back through the scorching desert.

His boss, a vicious man named Loomweather (Gary Shail) isn’t amused. But he has another, better-paying job for Farrowood.

He wants him to accompany a man named McGonagal in search of an outlaw leader who stole $20,000 from the town of Casket, then ambushed the posse that tried to track him down.

McGonagal and the strange man their seeking (Gary Baxter as The Stranger) had met before. McGonagal is eager for a reunion that proves fatal.

Farrowood isn’t quite sure what to make of The Stranger, a man who seems intent on making him re-examine what he thought he knew about his own life before they engage in a final showdown.

Back home, Caine’s wife Christina is pregnant with their child, not at all thrilled that her husband has taken about bounty assignment. After all, he barely survived the last one.

Dale Sheppard as Caine Farrowood, trying to keep a man he’s seeking alive in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Gary Baxter as The Stranger, a man filled with strange ways in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Review:

Loosely based on Mark Twain’s short story “The Mysterious Stranger,” this is billed as the “only British guerilla shot acid Western ever made.”

Bottom line: It’s a strange film.

The Stranger uses crucifixes for target practice. Someone licks a crucifix. The Stranger taps a tree. An apple falls into his hand. Our bounty-hunting hero hallucinates. A lot.

It might be easier to follow if much of the dialogue wasn’t unintelligible. It might be easer to watch is some scene weren’t filmed through a filter to make them look vintage while others aren’t.

And there might be a point. But if there is, I missed it on the first viewing. And I don’t plan to waste another hour watching it again to try to figure it out.

Gary Shail as Loomweather, taking delight in the torture of a man in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Maryam Forouhandah as Christina Farrowood, Caine’s pregnant wife in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Directed by:
Thomas Lee Rutter

Cast:
Dale Sheppard … Caine Farrowood
Gary Shail … Loomweather
Gary Baxter … The Stranger
Maryam Forouhandah … Christina Farrowood
Richard Rowbotham … McGonagal
Bazz Hancher … Lurg
Jim Heal … Father Bullock
James E. Taylor … The first bounty
James Underwood … Torture victims
Jim Heal … Reverend
Evan Mancrief … Young boy
Orly Phillips … Silk performers
Shelley Krasnowski … Satanic nymph
Steph Evans … Satanic nymph
Leah Moore … Satanic nymph

Runtime: 77 min.

Richard Rowbotham as McGonagal, eager for a reunion with the stranger in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Dale Sheppard as Caine Farrowood, tormented and ready for a showdown in Day of the Stranger (2019)

Memorable lines:

The Stranger, tossing a dead man off a cliff: “This here rock is closed on Sundays.”

The Stranger: “Course, the vast majority of people’s lives ain’t nothin’ but an illusion.”
Caine Farrowood: “Huh? What in the god-damned hell are you talkin’ about?”
The Stranger: “In your mind, what do you see your good lady wife doin’ right now?”
Farrowood: “She’s at home, prayin’ for my soul.”
The Stranger: “You sure? You sure she ain’t bein’ a bad girl?”

The Stranger, tossing a six-gun: “Here’s your weapon. Pick it up. Take aim.”
Caine Farrowood: “What … what will become of me?”