Eminence Hill (2019)

Clint James is Royce Tullis, leader of a gang of four cutthroats determined to get even with the 12 jurors who condemned his brother to death.

At the home of the 12th victim, they find a pretty unsoiled daughter named Ruth (Anna Harr) and take her hostage, figuring to sell her for a handsome price.

But Ruth breaks away from the gang and runs right into the secluded community of Eminence Hill, home to a religious sect that covets its secrecy but that welcomes the young woman.

The four outlaws? They’re far less welcome. They’re taken captive as Noah (Barry Corbin) and his followers prepare to dispense their own form of frontier justice.

Meanwhile, bounty hunter Quincy Foster (Owen Conway) is on the trail of the Royce and his companions with the help of guide Carson Garrett (Charlie Motley).

A grizzled old-timer who’s done his share of killing, even Carson bristles at Quincy’s cold-blooded nature.

Owen Conway as Quincy Foster, the bounty hunter in Eminence Hill (2019)

Clint James as Royce Tullis, outlaw gang leader in Eminence Hill (2019)

Review:

Pretty well-acted and well-thought out film. You can certainly do far worse if you’re looking for an entertaining 21st century Western.

Just beware that the gore factor shoots through the roof as the film boils to a climax. Anyone up for a couple of scenes of outlaws being quartered?

And know that the two biggest names on the DVD cover — Barry Corbin and Lance Henriksen — are not the key characters here. Heck, Henriksen has just one scene, as an old-timer who wants to call out Quincy for a past misdeed.

Dominque Swain, Louie Iaccarino and Cameron Kotecki are the other members of the Royce Tullis gang. Dustin Leighton is especially effective as one of Noah’s subordinates.

Director Robert Conway also wrote the story with Owen Conway, who turns in one of the film’s most convincing performances as Quincy. Robert Conway previously directed the Western “Redemption: A Mile from Hell,” released in 2009.

Charlie Motley as Carson Garrett, Quincy’s guide in Eminence Hill (2019)

Anna Harr as Ruth, a newly orphaned girl kidnapped by Royce’s gang in Eminence Hill (2019)

Directed by:
Robert Conway

Cast:
Barry Corbin … Noah
Dominique Swain … Gretchen
Lance Hendricksen … Mason
Clint James … Royce
Owen Conway … Quincy
Anna Harr … Ruth
Charlie Motley … Carson
Louie Iaccarino … Cyrus
Cameron Kotecki … Samson
Brinke Stevens … Wilhelmina
Maria Olsen … Abigail
Dustin Leighton … Dathan
Augie Duke … Jane
Katie Peabody … Miriam
Brandon Hannifin … Isaac

Also with: Amelia Haberson, Michael Harrelson, Shannyn Hall, Greg Lutz, Elijah Davis, William Connor, Santiago Craig, Sky C. Donovan, Craig Hensley, Nathaniel Burns

Runtime: 100 min.

Dominique Swain as Gretchen, a member of the Royce gang in Eminence Hill (2019)

Barry Corbin as Noah, leader of the religious sect in Eminence Hill (2019)

Memorable lines:

Royce: “Word is, Mr. Ackerman and his fellas weren’t content to snatch a life from ol’ Jake, but left him on a rope past sundown. Left him there for better part of the month. Brids pecked out the eyes from his skull and the skin from his bones. Do you know of such (a) thing?”

Isaac: “Will this turn out any different if I spin you some fancy words?”

Noah: “I’m Noah. Welcome to my ark.”

Mason Mills of Quincy Foster: “None of us are angels … But I tell you, in a hundred years, only a time or two has hell spit out a man such as this — a man with a coldness about him that just isn’t human, a creature that takes a life as simple as drawing a breath.”

Gretchen: “Hey, Royce, we ain’t gettin’ out of this one, are we?”
Royce: “I don’t think so.”

Noah: “You’re sending me from this world to the arms of the Lord.”
Royce: “I think you’re in for one hell of a disappointment.”

Louie Iaccarino as Cyrus, a member of the Royce gang in Eminence Hill (2019)

Cameron Kotecki as Samson, a member of Royce’s gang in Eminence Hill (2019)

Maria Olsen as Abigail, a member of the religious sect in Eminence Hill (2019)

Dustin Leighton as Dathan, a member of the religious sect in Eminence Hill (2019)

Lance Hendricksen as Mason Mills, an ex-Rebel with a grudge against Quincy in Eminence Hill (2019)

Augie Duke as Jane, Carson’s favorite saloon girl in Eminence Hill (2019)