Don Jeanes is Sam and Abby Castro his wife Eleanor, fortunate ranchers out West. Because while nearby farms are devastated by drought, their crops flourish.
That doesn’t mean all is well on. Eleanor has lost multiple babies in childbirth, leading Sam to begin drinking and driving a wedge between the couple.
Then a badly wounded black woman bangs on Eleanor’s front door, begging her to take care of her baby as her dying wish.
Eleanor gladly adopts baby girl, naming her Reina, the Spanish word for queen. Sam agrees they’ll raise the child, though he never embraces Reina as his own the way his wife does.
Years later, when crooked debt collectors come calling, Reina is forced to kill to avoid being raped and to hold onto the ranch.
Knowing a black woman can’t own property, see makes up the name Ray Bronco for a fictious new owner, then turns the ranch into a home for misfit women.
But an old problem — past debt — resurfaces. Reina will have to come up with $2,000 in three weeks to keep her property.
What’s worse, the man holding the bank note is Billy Belle, son of the man she had to kill 20 years earlier.
When it’s clear that selling crops and farm animals won’t raise enough to cover the debt, Reina, a runaway fiance named Lottie and an aging whore named Mary set out after outlaw Wayne Wesley.
He just happens to have a $2,000 bounty on his head. And a map to buried gold in his saddlebags.
Trish D. Powell as adult Reina, turned bounty hunter to save her ranch in Reina of the West (2022)
John Aston as outlaw Wayne Wesley, seen through Reina’s spy glass in Reina of the West (2022)
Review:
A cheaply and crudely made mess of a Western recommended only for those who run out of classics to watch. Even then, you’ll probably have more fun rewatching a classic.
The film tries to cover nearly 40 years of Reina’s life as a strong and capable black woman, but filmmakers can’t seem to settle on a mood for their project.
It earns two stars because filmmakers chose a tongue-and-cheek approach for about 20 minutes once Reina the adult arrives on the scene and decides to turn bounty hunter. It’s easily the most entertaining part of the film.
Just before the credits roll, Reina’s long-lost father shows up. And the words “to be continued” appear on screen. But there’s been no recent hint of a sequel.
Amber Perley as Lottie, the runaway bride who moves in with Reina to avoid an arranged marriage in Reina of the West (2022)
Thomas Barron Sampson as Rico, the man who threatens to take Sam’s ranch in Reina of the West (2022)
Directed by:
Krystal Bolden
Cast:
Trish D. Powell … Adult Reina
Ellen Harris … Young Reina
Don Jeanes … Sam
Abby Castro … Eleanor
Christopher Corson … Curly Belle
Matthew Von Blackstone … Jim
Thomas Barron Sampson … Rico
Kasey Bass … Myra
John Aston … Wayne Wesley
Amber Perley … Lottie
Kelly Kidd … Billy Belle
Vickey Dempsey Burns … Mary
Judy Lee … Jessie
Reya Carter … Jane
Gabriel Bush … Jazzy Ace
Runtime: 108 min.
Vickey Dempsey Burns as Mary, formerly a whore named Myra, confessing past sins in Reina of the West (2022)
Reya Carter as Jane and Judy Lee as Jessie, the other two young women living iwth Reina in Reina of the West (2022)
Memorable lines:
Eleanor, holding an orphaned black baby girl: “God kept his promise, Sam. I thought something was wrong, but it’s actually right.”
Sam, after his wife passes: “The grave’s been dug.”
Reina: “In more ways than one.”
Sam: “You know, I’m gettin’ awful tired of your mouth. Didn’t have to bring you in here. Could have left you out there in the woods. Let coyotes drag you off.”
Reina to Lottie: “The thing about women is, nobody gives us power. You have to take it.”
Reina, spotting the wanted man she’s been trailing: “Well, I’ll be damned. There he is. Wayne Welsey.” She smiles: “Cuter in person.”
Lottie: “Let me see.”
See takes Reina’s binoculars.
Lottie: “Two thousand dollars never looked so good.”
Reina, suddenly rhyming as she mends Wayne Wesley’s wounded hand: “You’re lucky you’re worth more alive than dead. Otherwise, I would have put a bullet in your head instead.”
Ellen Harris as teenage Reina, reflecting on her first kill in Reina of the West (2022)
Don Jeanes as Sam, the man who can never quite accept Reina as his daughter in Reina of the West (2022)
Abby Castro as Eleanor, grateful to have an adoptive daughter to call her own in Reina of the West (2022)
Christopher Corson as Curly Belle, the businessman who refuses to pay Sam a fair price for his crops in Reina of the West (2022)
Kelly Kid as Billy Belle, the man who wants $2,000 or Reina’s ranch in Reina of the West (2022)
Matthew Von Blackstone as Jim, Curly’s brutish brother who tries to rape Reina in Reina of the West (2022)
Kasey Bass as Myra, the whore who gives Sam an alternate place to rest his head in Reina of the West (2022)
Trish D. Powell as Reina, not minding having Wayne Wesley’s (John Aston’s) head on her shoulder one little bit in Reina of the West (2022)
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