Kill or Be Killed
In the autumn of 1900, outlaw Claude Barbee puts his 'retirement plan' in action, attempting to lead his train-robbing gang across Texas to recover a cash stash hidden after a botched railroad heist.
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- Cast:
- Gregory Kelly , Arianne Martin , Luce Rains , Timothy McKinney , Edwin Neal , Michael Berryman , Pepe Serna
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
You won't be disappointed!
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Despite it's flaws, I had a pretty good time watching this Western flick. The main problem, if I had to point to one, was the presence of characters that had no introduction, had some meaningful impact on the story, and then disappeared without a trace. The demon Indian with the electrically charged eyes was just such a character; if I had to guess, and I do, he's identified in the cast list as 'Ghastly Monstrosity'.A couple others were the 'twin' boys, one of which was killed by Claude 'Sweet Tooth' Barbee (Justin Meeks), the other sending Barbee to his eventual demise. Who were they? What was their motivation? It would seem that one of the boys, the one that was shot by Barbee, was 'marking' the outlaws for tracking by either that Indian or the unnamed bounty hunter. At least one could figure out what the bounty hunter was up to by the end of the movie.So in the tradition of some of your noteworthy slasher films, the core group of six bad guys all fall one by one at the hands of various forces as they intend to retrieve a fortune in gold stashed by one of the men following an earlier robbery that went bad. The nominal head of the Nixon gang (Larry Grant Harbin) was the first to go; presumably he died in his sleep as a result of natural causes, though others who had their dreams interrupted often wound up with body parts cut up. The whittling down of the outlaw gang pretty much went ahead by formula, with new gang leader Claude and sidekick Slap Jack Davis (Paul McCarthy-Boyington) just about making it to the end of the picture.Keeping the film at it's minimalist roots was one of the better things about the movie. Cinematography was decent, and even though the acting was sub-par in spots, most of the characters held up their end. For all the question marks about the characters in pursuit of the Nixon Gang, I thought the resolution with Claude sharing his ultimate grave with hooker Pearl (Arianne Martin) a distinctly creative touch. Though the pop-gun sound effects of the gunfire managed to bother me somewhat, this was one of the few Westerns that accurately depicted the lack of shooting accuracy for the era, as hand guns weren't very reliable for more than twenty feet or so. Which went a long way to explain how opponents shooting at each other in an open field without cover often managed to remain standing and unharmed.
This flick definitely is different, but in a very good way! It encircles many genres which makes it very unique. The characters are interesting and create many layers to the film. The Texas scenery is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. You really do get a feel for the times with the great costumes, appropriate settings, and what seems to be authentic language for 1900. The main actor performed very well and kept the movie exciting. For a low budget film, you could not tell the difference. They did an awesome job with what the had available to them. The ending was very creative and unexpected. It keeps you on your toes for sure. Love how it ties in with the real history of the area. I would definitely recommend this movie. It is not for the faint of heart though. You may need to watch it twice to catch all the details.
The best way to approach this movie is to ask yourself the following questions: "Do I like independent, lower budget movies?" "Do I like movies that have no major A-list stars?" "Do I like violent spaghetti Western movies?" "Do I like movies that try something NEW?" If you answered yes to most of these questions, then you will likely enjoy this film as much as I did. If you want a sterile, familiar, typical plot line like in FORSAKEN or DIABLO, then this is most likely NOT the movie for you. That's what great independent movies do. They offer an alternative to the spoon fed Hollywood crap. This is not McDonald's, it's a mom/pop restaurant that you have to look up on Yelp to even find. KILL OR BE KILLED has a nasty, bloody side that it is NOT scared to show you. The main characters are bad people, and it gets darker and darker as it goes further into the story. I was throughly entertained by all the elements and will recommend this one to anyone who answers "yes" the the above questions. Have fun. CT
This film won't appeal to everyone, it's more for people that watch a LOT of movies and tired of formulas.I can't quite tell you what this film is, at best it's a Weird Western and a good one. I did not know what was going to happen next, and the villains were the protagonists so that different as well.The strong point is the dialogue, Graves and Meeks have created a patois that is completely captivating. I don't know that it's historically accurate, but it felt like it came from another time, and it made a lot of the scenes work.Someone else can summarize the film, and those reviews are easy to find. I think that it's more important to set the proper expectation for this film. It doesn't fit neatly into any genre and it isn't predictable. If you can live with that, you're going to like this film.