The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Emily Whitcomb is Harriet, a woman who has watched her parents and brother butchered and her home torched by marauders.

But these weren’t bandits roaming the frontier, looking for defenseless victims to rob.

These were sub-human monsters, known for tearing the faces off their victims and wearing them into battle as trophies.

In spite of her Eastern education, there’s a lot of feisty in Harriet, who believes in God and vengeance and weeping only after she’s achieved the latter.

But she’s not foolish enough to think she can avenge her family on her own.

She sends surviving sister-in-law Inger to fetch a gunman named Tyson. They, in turn, head to town to find Hawes (Mike Markoff), a man who’s had experience dealing with the same monsters.

They killed his wife and daughter while he was away. He tracked them, unsuccessfully. But he still knows more about them than anyone else around.

Problem is, Hawes isn’t interested in vengeance anymore. He’s burying his grief with whiskey.

And he has no interest in following Harriet into the wilderness in search of the monsters.

At least not until he thinks she’s stolen his last two bottles of whiskey.

Emily Whitcomb as Harriet, determined in her quest for revenge in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Mike Markoff as Hawes, caught in a life-or-death struggle with sub-human monsters in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Review:

A truly odd entry in the Western horror sub-genre from Rene Perez, who gave us “Dead and the Damned” more than a decade ago as the second of 30 films he’s now directed.

The pluses here include a winning performance from Emily Whitcomb, a hunky hero in Mike Markoff, well-done cinematography and a couple of touches right out of the Spaghetti West.

Unfortunately, the film also gets way too talky in spots, perhaps the result of trying to stretch a razor thin plot to feature-film length.

Then there’s the oddest scene of them all, one in which a lovely angel with ravishing red hair shows up by Hawes side with two bottles of whiskey.

She gives him an option: Returning to the life of a drunk or becoming the avenging angel he’s been blaming God for not providing.

Given that there are lots of monsters still roaming about, I bet you can guess which he choses.

Karin Brauns as Inger, all tied up and in the hands of the marauders in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Richard Tyson as Mr. Tyson, the first gun Harriet hires in her quest for revenge in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Directed by:
Rene Perez

Cast:
Mike Markoff … Hawes
Emily Whitcomb … Harriet
Richard Tyson … Mr. Tyson
Tony Jackson … Alpha Merauder
Karin Brauns … Inger
Nicolas Glavan … Jebadiah
Emily Grace Turner … Angel
Malorie Glavan … Widow
Abigale Baisch … Daughter
Robert Faltisco … Bartender

Runtime: 78 min.

Emily Grace Turner as the angel who visits Hawes in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

One of the leaders of the marauders in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Memorable lines:

Harriet to Mr. Tyson, who thinks he’s been hired to protect her ranch: “Your gun is no longer needed for protection. What I need now is revenge — cold and bloody.”

Hawes, trying to talk Harriet out of her mission of vengeance: “You seem like a fine young lady. You got your whole life ahead of you. Don’t trade that for sufferin’.”

Hawes, waking up wounded after his first encounter with the marauders: “Where’s my gun?”
Harriet: “Is that all you can say? I’ve been holding you for hours.”

Harriet to Hawes: “Go find your whiskey. Wash down that cold lump of cowardice.”

Emily Whitcomb as Harriet, proving an educated woman can handle a six-gun in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Mike Markoff as Hawes, recovering from his first encounter with the marauders in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Karin Braun as Inger and Emily Whitcomb as Harriet, anticipating a showdown in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Emily Grace Turner as the angel, offering Hawes a choice for the direction of his life in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Emily Whitcomb as Harriet, trying to free herself from the marauders’ grip in The Legend of Hawes (2022)

Mike Markoff as Hawes, looking out over the farm he hoped to make his life’s work in The Legend of Hawes (2022)