Trouble’s brewing in a small, dusty town near the border: Mayor Gordon W. Johnson (David Gilliam) of Sweetwater wants to take his plans for expansion to the next level. To do so, he needs control of a rich Mexican ranchero’s mines. Gonzalo Delgado (Antonio Mayans), the ranchero in question, is unaware of the plot, preparing for the wedding of his daughter, Guadalupe (Naila Mansour). When she is kidnapped from the altar on her wedding day during a raid by bloodthirsty outlaw Joe Cavendish (Ethan McDowell), the ranchero seeks aid. He encounters a gunslinging drifter with no name (Crispian Belfrage) and asks for help. This nameless Bounty Killer accepts, always on the lookout for opium money to self-medicate his Civil War flashbacks. What follows is an outstanding western story full of twists and very satisfying action.
This movie could have been summer blockbuster material with 20 or 30 thousand more dollars behind it. The titular Bounty Killer provides us with some excellent—if somewhat sparse—and realistic gunplay and fistfights. What The Bounty Killer delivers best is outstanding action and drama. The villainous crooked politicians and lawmen were my favorite touch in the whole movie. Often a side plot or completely untouched in other western narratives, a mercenary fighting a crooked mayor in defense of a woman and justice makes for a compelling protagonist.
If you’re sick of John Wayne-style slaughter fests somewhat typical of the genre, The Bounty Killer is for you. Crispian Belfrage shows us why he’s often cast as a stoic fighter, delivering a very strong performance as the nameless main character. The nameless protagonist’s opium addiction is an excellent touch as well: we often see alcohol and tobacco in westerns, but it’s rare to see other forms of addiction common to the time period portrayed on film. While occasionally hobbled by budgetary limitations, The Bounty Killer is a skillfully shot and acted western which will appeal to drama and action fans as much as it does to fans of westerns. Highly Recommended.
What kind of film collection would this film be suitable for?
The Bounty Killer is an obvious fit for Western film collections in public libraries, but it should be considered for period drama collections for its outstanding portrayals of ‘Wild West' life and its drama-heavy story.