Jason Collier (Nathan Todaro) is out hunting when he returns to his Colorado cabin and a grisly sight — his wife and two children lying dead in a pool of their own blood, stabbed to death.
Vernon Pollard (Logan Vance) is dreaming of leaving the Colorado ranch where he lives with his drunk, crippled father and his loving mother.
Then a man who calls himself The Reverend (James Edward Holley) shows up. His mother invites the man into their home.
Soon, Vernon’s father and mother are dead too. And he’s lying bleeding to death in the family’s barn, hit throat cut by The Reverend.
Collier has been tracking the killer and shows up at the Pollard homestead just in time to save the young man.
He nurses him back to health. Then they set out on the trail of a pretend man of God who truly believes there’s no place for mercy or forgiveness on earth.
Nathan Todaro as Jason Collier, contemplating revenge on the man who killed his family in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Logan Vance as Vernon Pollard, unsure how to feel about a quest for vengeance in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Review:
Beautifully filmed in West Virginia (far, far from Colorado), this is a low-budget Western well worth a watch.
James Edward Holley has the best role — and nearly all the best lines — as The Reverend, and he turns in a fine performance.
But everyone in the cast comes off as comfortable and capable in front of the camera, and that’s certainly not the case in most low-budget Westerns from the 2020s.
The film marks Tom Whitus’ first Western. He also wrote the screenplay. And the lyrics to the theme song that plays at the end of the film.
James Edward Holley as The Reverend, meeting the Collier family in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Shelly Looudin as the wife of The Reverend, about to face his wrath, in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Directed by:
Tom Whitus
Cast:
Nathan Todaro … Jason Collier
James Edward Holley … The Reverend
Logan Vance … Vernon Pollard
Adam Jones … Rance Pollard
Melissa O. Bowen … Jane Pollard
Cat Skugor … Katherine Collier
Gibson Crumley … Young woman
Robert Elswick … Trading post proprietor
Thadd McClung … Confederate soldier
Lee Look … Snake oil salesman
Steve Paugh … Farmer
Kinny Landrum … Accordion player
Shelly Loudin … Reverend’s wife
Runtime: 85 min.
End title song: “Maybe” by Lee Miller, Kinny Landrum and Bobby Messano (lyrics by director Tom Whitus)
Adam Jones as Rance Pollard, crippled, oft drunk and very dependent on son Vernon in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Melissa O. Bowen as Jane Pollard, welcoming The Reverend into her home in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Memorable lines:
The Reverend to the Collier children: “Say, who’d like to hear the story about a little boy named David who killed a giant?”
Katherine Collier: “I’m sorry, reverend, that’s story’s a bit too violent for children. Don’t you think?”
The Reverend: “The Bible’s full of terrible things, ma’am. Best they learn that now.”
Collier’s son: “What’s the Valley of the Shadow of Death? Is that a real place?”
The Reverend: “Oh, yeah, it’s a real place. C’mon here.” The Reverend summons the young boy closer. “You’re in it.”
The Reverend, coming across two dead pistoleros: “I’d pray for you, but even my hypocrecy has its limits. And it’s too damn hot for grave diggin’ to give you a proper burial.”
The Reverend to Vernon Pollard while slashing his throat: “Live in shit, die in shit, boy!”
The Reverend to his wife: “Ours is an Old Testament philosophy — an eye for an eye. Forgiveness is for heaven, not earth. Forgiveness on earth invites sinnin’ on earth.”
The Reverend: “Fear fills the offering plates.”
Gibson Crumley as the young friend of Katherine Collier in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Cat Skugor as Katherine Collier, warning The Reverend about stories too violent for children in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Robert Elswick as the trading post proprietor, dealing with a snake oil salesman in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
Nathan Todaro as Jason Collier, hunting for his family’s survival in Valley of the Shadow (2026)
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