Guns of Redemption (2025)

Casper Van Dien is Luke, a drifter volunteering to help Parson Dyer (Sean Astin) rebuild his burned-out church in return for a place to stay.

Luke’s a name he’s adopted from the Bible. He’s really former Confederate marauder Wade Jackson, trying to put the Civil War and the violence that accompanied it behind him.

Into town rides Gen. Bork (Jeff Fahey) and his caravan of entertainment, offering gambling and drink to Union soldiers serving in the reconstruction South.

He offers women too, young Southern belles who have committed a crime — or a supposed crime — against the Union. They’re being forced to pay off their debt to society as his captive whores.

His stable includes virginal Anna (Siena Bjornerud), who helped a Rebel officer escape prison, and her youngster sister Charlotte (Kaitlyn Kemp), considered too young to bed soldiers, but not too young to serve them drinks.

With the help of a shovel and a few wicked blows to the head of a Union soldier, they shake Bork’s men and take refuge in the church.

In the confrontation that follows, two people are killed, Luke suffers near mortal wounds and the young girls wind up back in Bork’s custody.

Luke survives his wounds and sets out on the general’s trail.

Casper Van Dien as Luke, wondering how to rescue a young girl from a camp filled with Union soldiers in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Jeff Fahey as Gen. Bork, owner of a traveling business offering gambling, booze and girls in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Review:

As the female leads, young Kaitlyn Kemp and Siena Bjornerud turn in spunky performances in this low-budget film.

And Casper Van Dien, making his fourth Western, tries his damndest to inject some grit into the proceedings.

Trouble is, he cheats death so often and seems so unfazed by near mortal wounds — including a bullet near his spine that could kill him at any moment — that it all becomes quite implausible.

Director Brian Skiba would have been wise to replace Gen. Bork’s bumbling henchmen and overdone drone footage with lots more meanness and more skillful action sequences.

That’s especially true of the film’s final action scene. It just might make you laugh. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the director’s intention.

Kaitlyn Kemp as Charlotte, cautioning her sister to stay quiet as they hide from Gen. Bork’s men in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Siena Bjornerud as Anna, finding herself in the clutches of Gen. Bork’s men again in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Directed by:
Brian Skiba

Cast:
Casper Van Dien … Luke
Jeff Fahey … Gen. Bork
Sean Astin … Parson Dyer
Kaitlyn Kemp … Charlotte
Siena Bjornerud … Anna
James Logan … Dawg
Curtis Lyons … Otis
Jesse Gallegos … Sanchez
Sean-Michael Argo … Shotgun
Kim DeLonghi … Beth Dyer
Liz Atwater … Lulu
Celeste Blandon … Bell
Wilder Smith … Kid
Michael Arata … Dr. Harrison
Myrom Kingery … Samuel
Chris McNett … Jessup
Michael R. Elmore … Col. Saunders
Emma Murray … Tina
Emily Bratcher … Trix

Runtime: 94 min.

Sean Astin as Parson Dyer, defending his church against Gen. Bork and his men in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Kim DeLonghi as Beth Dyer, taking cover during a shootout in her husband’s church in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Memorable lines:

Parson Dyer to Luke, who’s being haunted by dreams from the Civil War: “Look, I don’t care what’s behind you, as long as you don’t bring it with you. Understand?”

Charlotte, after watching her older sister club a would-be John several times with a shovel: “I think you killed him.”
Anna, ignoring the bloody mess at her feet: “Oh, no. He’s fine. He’s fine.”

Luke, when Anna keeps addressing him as a pastor: “I’m not a father. Or a parson. Or any …”
Anna: “Then who are you?” She pauses, before deciding. “My guardian angel.”
Charlotte: “He’s too dirty.”

James Logan as Dawg, one of Gen. Bork’s men in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Curtis Lyons as Otis, one of Gen. Bork’s men in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Parson Dyer to Gen. Bork: “There’s nothing in this church that belongs to you other than the sin you brought in.”

One of Gen. Bork’s men: “I’ve been shot.”
Gen. Bork: “Shut up and stick a finger in it.”

Gen. Bork: “What kind of man comes back from the dead to save a couple of worthless whores?”

Gen. Bork, stumbling upon his fleeing whores: “Sometimes, I do believe there is a God. And he loves me most.”

Liz Atwater as Lulu, the spitfire among Gen. Bork’s young female captives in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Celeste Blandon as Bell and Emma Murray as Tina, two of Gen. Bork’s captives, wondering what to do next when the wagon breaks down in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Siena Bjornerud as Anna and Kaitlyn Kemp as Charlotte, young girls with a problem named Gen. Bork in Guns of Redemption (2025)

Casper Van Dien as Luke, wounded and offered a helping hand in Guns of Redemption (2025)