It is a good thing there are so many human emotions. Without the spectrum of the feelings we are capable of showing the film screenwriter would have a very difficult time coming up with ideas. Fortunately there are enough emotions to keep them in business for the foreseeable future. There are the usual emotions that make for great stories like love and hate but the one that seems to be the most satisfying for the audience is good old fashion revenge. We have socially acceptable ways to express love and even to some degree hatred but when it comes to revenge most people dream of it but never get to act upon those feelings. Because of this the revenge flick can have a powerful effect on the audience. It allows us to vicariously live through the characters and get a taste of this very dark emotion. We have all seen more than a few films of this genre and I thought I seen just about every variation of the theme but I just watched a revenge movie that truly impressed me; ‘Come Hell or High Water’. You might have heard about this one under the original name; One-Eyed Horse. No matter what you call this movie it is one of the better low budget films on the subject in a long while. To be fair there are faults in the making of this movie but this holds true to the spirit of the independent film; taking a risk to advance the art of cinema. The missteps made here are more than made up for by the sheer energy the cast and crew have put into the production. It is not the greatest film in the revenge genre but it is an honest attempt and that comes across loud and clear. The film was made for a reported $200,000 and while that may seem like a lot of money when it comes to film making it is next to nothing. A typical big budget flick will spend more than that on snacks for the cast and crew over at the craft service table. One of the most important things for the new film maker is getting their work out to the public. This not only generates enough income for the next project but it provides the necessary feedback so the cast and crew can improve and move forward. In this particular case the distribution was provided by a relatively new company North American Motion Pictures. Recently I have had the opportunity to review several films in their new but growing catalogue and I’m quite impressed with things so far. They appear to specialize in little Indy gems and give them a chance to reach the audience they deserve.

The film was written, produced and directed by Wayne Shipley. This is his first time out of gate with all three job titles and deports himself very well in all of them. As the pre production producer it was up to him to decide how to best use the meager budget and set up a break neck shooting schedule. Sitting in our living rooms this may seem to be a simple task but it is more like a general preparing for a major battle. Shipley may have had to do this film fast and cheap but you wouldn’t known by looking at the finished product. There is a sense of caring about the project that comes off the screen to the audience. As a new writer he could have taken the hackney road of many new Indy film makers and gone for the slash and dash horror flick but to his credit he took the high road. This story spans several genres and works in them all. The foundation is a classic western. It is set just after the Civil War and follows Justin Gatewood (Mark Redfield) who has a grudge and now wants to extract his revenge. The post Civil War period was a tumultuous time in this country. The scars of the war remained for several decades after its conclusion and feelings were bitter and raw for many. This story also takes good advantage of the elements of a western. The Old West was filled with adventurous men out to make their mark on the world. It was also a culture that frequently lacked many of the trappings of civilization. Law was a concept not often upheld in a formal fashion. Most times a man could not depend on courts or law enforcement to obtain justice; he had to take matters into his own hands. From our vantage point this is a type of freedom that we can dream about but would never dare to act on. This is the perfect setup for a revenge story and the execution is very good especially for a first timer. While there is sufficient action to keep western fans happy the heart of this story is more on the psychological than visceral level. It is more about the motivations than the execution and that alone sets it apart from other members of this genre. It is at times a lot to get into but it is well worth the effort.

This brings us to how Shipley did his first time as a director. He builds the suspense and tension with a craftsman’s eye for detail. There is a foreboding atmosphere created that pervades the movie. You can almost taste the need for revenge that has built up in Gatewood for a long time. It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold and that is richly demonstrated in this movie. Has the film begins Greenwood had just been released from prison. He had been sentenced for the attempted murder of William Curry (Michael Hagan). Twenty five years prior he was a guard in a Union army prisoner of war camp where Greenwood and his brother were prisoners. When Greenwood’s brother is killed while Curry was on watch Greenwood blamed him for the death and would not let go of that event. During his incarceration Greenwood’s home town of Hadley, Missouri had grown and moved on from the war. In that time his daughter Helen (Jennifer Rouse) grew into a young woman with a head for business. She has made the family business a success and tries to get her father to forget the past and move on. Greenwood had been preparing for his revenge for a long time and giving up on retribution is not part of his nature. Once his plan is placed in motion it pulls in his daughter as well as the daughter of his nemesis Catherine Louise Curry ((Kelly Potchak).

This may be a western by every standard definition of the term but you get so much more with this film. It is a taut, well crafted psychological thriller that will keep the audience engaged and entertained. If this is how Shipley starts out his career behind the camera as a writer, producer and director I greatly look forward to his future projects. He has skillful way of telling a gripping story and is able to breath new life into an old genre.