Sheriff of Contention (2010)

Sheriff Tom Peavy is the aging sheriff of Contention, who suddenly finds himself investigating a strange string of murders.

Someone is prowling the streets at night, killing unsuspecting women when he finds them alone.

A school teacher named Betty Coles is the first to die, found mutilated and hanging from the rafters in her classroom.

Other victims soon follow. For clues, the sheriff has an odd pattern from the bottom of the killer’s boot and a dairy the school teacher left behind, with a missing page that likely named the killer.

As the death toll mounts, signs point to a cowboy named Dave Riley as a prime suspect. He was with a saloon girl named Judy the night she was killed.

But no one is above suspicion. That includes the sheriff’s deptuy Alan Conley (Miguel Corona), a fast gun determined to make a name for himself.

And the hunt for the killer becomes more personal when he turns his attention to pretty young Melissa, the girl the sheriff’s been courting.

Review:

My, oh my, is this ever a low-budget fiasco best avoided.

The acting is far from the best, but even a stellar cast couldn’t turn this poorly produced mess into a decent Western.

The problems include amateurish scene cuts, a silly score, crappy cinematography and a pitiful sound mix. Then there’s the script.

One of the silliest segments comes when the sheriff interviews saloon girl Judy as part of his investigation. Seems she was secret friends with the school teacher, something she begs the sheriff not to reveal lest the lest school teacher’s reputation be tarnished.

In the very next flashback scene, saloon girl Judy walks into a public restaurant, sits down across from the school teacher at one of the tables and asks the school teacher to give her reading lessons. That way, she can become a school teacher too and escape her life of whoredom.

The big twist/reveal at the end of the movie is handled in an equally inept fashion.

Directed by:
Thomas W. O’Mary

Cast:
Angelo Ortega … Sheriff Tom Peavy
Miguel Corona … Deputy Alan Conley
Wendy Wiltsey … Melissa
Thomas W. O’Mary … Doc Bennett
Eric Scot Frydler … The Parson
Steve Johnson … Dave Riley
Nick Bonacker … Mayor
Mari-Jo Davis … Parson’s wife
Christy Linden … Teacher Betty Coles
Christen Cearfoss … Saloon girl Judy

Also with: Ivan Harrison, Charley Miller, Margaret Helmer, Brendan O’Mary, Michaela Carrozzo, Diana Solorzano, Mark Landis, Adrian Woodhall, Chris Ansoff, Mark Landis, Jeff Gordon, Jim Kelly

Runtime: 101 min.

Memorable lines:

Sheriff Tom Peavy: “You could have been killed. You’re a lawman, not a gunfighter.”
Deputy Conley: “I’m both.”

Cowboy, getting his prescription from the doctor: “A shot of tequila every two hours? I can do that.”

Sheriff Tom Peavy: “What are we dealing here with, doc?”
Doc Bennettt: “I don’t know if there’s a name that classifies it. Some kind of lunacy. Or just plain evil.”

Deputy Conley: “The parson’s wife is dead?”
Sheriff Tom Peavy: “Was she shot?”
Deputy Conley: “I couldn’t tell.”

Sheriff Tom Peavy, when his deputy brings back the murder suspect dead: “I wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he dropped through those trap doors on his way to hell.”
Deputy Conley: “Well, I made sure he didn’t go out painless.”

Deputy Conley: “I used to think I knew what a killer looked like. But I realize now, a killer can look like anyone. Even someone you know.”