Ghost Town (2023)

Owen Conway is Solomon Miller, a down-on-his-luck drifter left horseless. Wandering through the wilderness afoot, he’s thrilled when he sees a small town on the horizon.

He finds refuge there and, at the suggestion of the innkeeper, looks for work at the Golden Garden saloon to pay his way.

No-nonsense owner Bob Hagen (Robert Sprayberry) hires Miller as his new barkeep. But there are some iron-clad rules he must follow.

No free drinks. No sampling the merchandise. No sticky fingers in the cash box. And, perhaps most importantly, no frolicking with the whores — Kate (Eva Hamilton) and Stella (Becky Jo Harris).

Well, one of Solomon’s first customers takes a bullet to the head while enjoying his drink. And that’s just the start of the new bartender’s woes.

Some are deadly, like the three bandits who show up intent on using the gals and robbing the saloon. Some are frightening, like the strange sounds in the night.

Some are menial, like the constant need to check all the piss pots to make sure they’re empty and clean. And chasing town drunk Ezekial out of “the shitter,” where he likes to nap.

As for those frights … Are they real? Or imagined? Could Solomon Miller be losing touch with reality?

Owen Conway as Solomon Miller, a drifter thrilled to see a town in the distance in Ghost Town (2023)

Robert Sprayberry as Bob Hagen, the no-nonsense owner of the saloon and Solomon’s boss in Ghost Town (2023)

Review:

Owen Conway delivers a strong performance in the lead role and an impressive directorial debut in this horror Western.

By the time Conway’s frustration boils over in a jailhouse cell, viewers have witnessed the causes of that frustration and can certainly sympathize.

Conway also gets solid performances from the rest of the cast. Unlike so many other low-budget Westerns, none of these actors of actresses seem out of place in front of a camera.

Becky Jo Harris plays Stella, the whore who takes a liking to the new bartender. Eva Hamilton is Kate, the whore who despises Solomon the minute she lays eyes on him.

And his role is small, but Liza Davis is a delight as sadistic Deputy Donovan, who won’t hesitate to cripple an inmate to get a confession, and seems mightily disappointed when he doesn’t get to use those tactics on Solomon.

The film’s main fault: An ending that leaves too many unanswered questions.

Conway appeared in three previous Westerns, all directed by his brother Robert — “Redemption” (2009), “Eminence Hill” (2019) and “Skinwalker” (2021).

Eva Hamilton as Kate, the whore who takes an immediate dislike to Solomon in Ghost Town (2023)

Becky Jo Harris as Stella, warming up to the new bartender in spite of a fellow whore’s warning in Ghost Town (2023)

Directed by:
Owen Conway

Cast:
Owen Conway … Solomon
Eva Hamilton … Kate
Becky Jo Harris … Stella
Robert Sprayberry … Hagen
Charlie Motley … Sheriff Hoyt
Nathaniel J. Burns … Ezekial
Stephen Moran … Benjamin
Brittany Mae … Blondie
Michael J. Harrelson … Innkeeper
Daniel Weisgerberg … Walter
Santiago Craig … Pat
Cameron Kotecki … Davey
Kirt Barnes … Jeff
Jessica Morgan … The Wanderer
Dan Higgins … The Reverend
John Marrs … Steven
Noah Layne … Ike
Daniel Link … Marshal
Liza Davis … Deputy Donovan
Runtime: 93 min.

aka:
Ghost Town: An American Terror

Songs:
“Am I Born to Die”
by Amelia Haberman
“The Unquiet Grave”
by Owen Conway

Charlie Motley as Sheriff Hoyt, wondering how Solomon took such an evil turn in Ghost Town (2023)

Owen Conway as Solomon Miller, trying to reason with three men intent on robbing the saloon in Ghost Town (2023)

Memorable lines:

Solomon Miller, turning down a drink: “Figured I’d abstain for a while. Get a load of the world through unhindered eyes.”
Stella: “You might not like what you see.”

Blondie, the whore who keeps mysteriously appearing: “You see, Mr. Miller, sadly, the strange and miraculous is so often easily exposed by dull and disenchanting facts.”

Kate: “You’re playing with fire, girl, batting your lashes at that man. He’s trouble with a capital T if I ever seen it.”
Stella: “Always grateful for the advice from the dead woman in the corner.”

Brittany Mae as Blondie, the whore who keeps appearing and disappearing in Ghost Town (2023)

Nathaniel J. Burns as Ezekial, the drunk who keeps falling asleep in the outhouse in Ghost Town (2023)

Sheriff to Solomon, his prisoner: “Mind needs a wash now and then. Clears the bugs out … Some folks, possibly through no fault of their own, are just bad medicine.”

Solomon Miller, about his plight: “It’s unrelenting. Just a gushing river of shit and misery.”

Solomon Miller: “Why don’t this town have no undertaker anyways?”
Sheriff: “Hanged him. Caught him committing unnatural acts with the corpses.”

Blondie to Solomon Miller: “The people in this town, they linger, in a particularly horrible sort of hell, because of you.”

Stephen Moran as Benjamin, encouraging Solomon to turn to the preacher and God for answers in Ghost Town (2023)

Dan Higgins as The Reverend, encouraging Solomon Miller to seek salvation in Ghost Town (2023)

John Marrs as Steven, stumbling upon a grisly scene in Ghost Town (2023)

Owen Conway as Solomon Miller, the gentle man who finally snaps in Ghost Town (2023)