The Bounty Killer (2018) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

The Bounty Killer (2018) poster Crispian Belfrage is a gunman for hire, an opium-addicted bounty killer trying to forget the horrors of the Civil War.

David Gilliam is Mayor Gordon W. Johnson, a politician hoping to ensure a second term by luring the railroad to the town of Sweetwater.

In order to do that, he needs to acquire mines owned by Gonzalo Delgado, a Mexican who isn’t inclined to sell.

But he might be so inclined if his daughter Guadalupe’s life is at stake.

So Johnson has her kidnapped during her wedding ceremony and held for $25,000 ransom. He figures Delgado will have to sell his land to raise that much money.

Delgado would rather pay the bounty killer $10,000 to bring Guadalupe back alive.

The bounty killer accepts the job, and it doesn’t take him long to figure out a corrupt mayor and his hand-picked sheriff might be involved in the young woman’s disappearance.

Crispian Belfrage as the bounty killer, tied up in a crooked game of poker in The Bounty Killer (2018)

Ethan McDowell as Joe Cavendish, the man in charge of the kidnappers in The Bounty Killer (2018)

Review:

There were clearly Spaghetti Western influences at play here. The film was shot in Almeria, our hero never gets a name and he’s a flawed hero at best.

Ah, and there are Leone influences too. In fact, part of the film was shot at Rancho Leone, site of the McBain ranch in “Once Upon a Time in the West.”

Then there’s the use of the name Sweetwater, the dusters worn by the kidnappers and the fact that a piece of land needed by the railroad is central to the plot.

By 2010s Western standards, the result is a decent film. But it’s too slow and neither witty or stylish enough to measure up to Spaghetti standards.

Most disturbing is the reaction — or lack thereof — of the cast. Guadalupe barely puts up a fuss when she’s kidnapped. A jailed man curls up in a ball and does nothing to protect himself when he’s shot by the sheriff.

And, once the mayor decides the bounty killer needs to die, the entire population of the town disappears as a gunfight rages on Main Street.

Naila Mansour as Guadalupe Delgado, the woman kidnapped on her wedding day in The Bounty Killer (2018)

David Gilliam as Mayor Gordon W. Johnson, a politician willing to do anything to win an election in The Bounty Killer (2018)

Directed by:
Chip Baker

Cast:
Crispian Belfrage … Bounty killer
Ethan McDowell … Joe Cavendish
David Gilliam … Mayor Gordon W. Johnson
Antonio Mayans … Gonzalo Delgado
Naila Mansour … Guadalupe Delgado
Nadis Lanfranconi … Claudia
Aaron Stielstra … Sheriff Mosely
Lenore Andriel … Jackie
Daniel Jordan … Dr. Rafferty
Mike Schnapp … Deputy Ted
Ray Gange … Jackson
Nick Reynolds … Carl

Also with: Mike Schnapp, Lucy Yang, Nacho Diaz, James Payton, Phoenix Bay, Cole Lynch, Carlos Ortega, John Hutchins, Richard Mann, Antonio Ramirez,

Runtime: 85 min.

Aaron Stilestra as Sheriff Mosely, the lawman who does the mayor’s dirty work in The Bounty Killer (2018)

Nick Reynolds as Carl, one of the mayor’s hired guns in The Bounty Killer (2018)

Memorable lines:

Bounty killer: “How can you be so sure (Johnson was involved in the kidnapping)?”
Gonzalo Delgado: “Can you imagine that bunch of marauders writing that ransome note without making a single mistake?”

Dr. Rafferty to the bounty killer: “I’d watch my back if I were you. This town is poisonous.”

Mayor Gordon W. Johnson: “Delago’s just a lazy, petty tyrant sitting on precious American soil.”

Joe Cavendish: “Woo-hoo, look what the wind blew into my viper’s nest.”