Weird West Week - Films

Serenity

Serenity is the "sequel" to the tv show Firefly. Directed by show creator Joss Whedon (his first feature film, as he went on to direct The Avengers) the movie is set a few months into the future from where the show leaves off. Some crew members have moved off the ship to permanent locations, but other than that it's business as usual aboard Serenity; Firefly-class small cargo spaceship. Captain Malcolm Reynolds leads the crew on jobs both legal, and less so. The movie gives us a nice ending to the story; closure for those of us so attached to our TV show that ended far too soon. Even still, the movie stands alone and it a great addition to any sci-fi and weird west collection. Highly recommended, one of my all-time favorite movies.



High Plans Invaders

High Plains Invaders casts the former Spike of "Buffy" and "Angel" as Sam Danville, a guilt-ridden outlaw who arrives in a small Old West town to be executed for his various crimes. Just before he's to be hanged, voracious giant bugs from outer space fall to earth to gorge themselves on the uranium deposits found in the town's ground. Danville finds himself the reluctant leader of a small group of townsfolk against the extraterrestrial insect onslaught.



Cowboys and Aliens

The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.


John Carter

Edgar Rice Burroughs, who is the nephew of the rebel widower veteran of the Civil War and gold hunter John Carter, has to attend the funeral of his uncle after his sudden death. He receives from John Carter's attorney his diary and weird instructions to be followed, and Edgar immediately starts reading the journal. In 1868, the Colonel Powell tries to force John Carter to join the army to fight against the Apache and arrests him. However, John Carter escapes and Powell chases him. They are attacked by the Apache and they hide in a cave. They are surprised by a Thern and John Carter kills him, and the alien's medallion transports John Carter to Mars. John has the ability to jump high and has his strength increased due to the gravity of Mars. However, he is captured by the Tharks and becomes their prisoner. He learns that Mars, called Barsoon, has been at war for thousands of years between the Helium and Zodanga, and this war is destroying the planet. The evil leader of Zodanga, Sab Than, has received a powerful weapon from the Thern Matai Shang. However, Sab Than proposes peace if he marries the Helium Princess Dejah Thoris. However, John Carter and Dejah Thoris fall in love with each other, and he decides to help the Helium people against the Zodanga people. But Matai Shang sends John Carter back to Earth and his last chance to return to Mars depends on his dear nephew's attitude.




Wild Wild West

Legless Southern inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating President U.S. Grant. Only two men can stop him: gunfighter James West and master-of-disguise and inventor Artemus Gordon. The two must team up to thwart Loveless' plans.





Dead Birds

A handful of thieves discover they have more to worry about than the law in this independent horror story, set during the Civil War. William (Henry Thomas) is the leader of a group of runaway Confederate soldiers who, with the help of an escaped slave and an Army nurse, stage a daring robbery at a bank holding a cache of rebel gold. The heist does not go smoothly, and William's associates soon fall into in-fighting as they head toward Mexico with their stolen fortune. Needing a place to rest for the night, the criminals set up camp in a mansion overlooking an abandoned plantation, but it soon becomes obvious that the old house is not as empty as they thought, as a handful of angry ghosts make their presence known while William and his cohorts fight over the gold.


Burrowers

On 11 August 1879, in the Dakota Territories, the Irish Fergus Coffey intends to propose his beloved Maryanne Stewart; however her family is attacked apparently by the Sioux and they vanish. Fergus joins to the experienced John Clay and William Parcher and a teenager to track down the family of settlers. Along their journey, the team-up with the army troop led by the sadistic and racist Captain Henry Victor that also believes that the Sioux are responsible for the abduction of the families in the territory. The quartet has friction with Henry and decides to ride without the escort of the army and the black cook Callaghan decides to travel with the group. After an Indian attack in the woods, the survivors discovers that the Sioux are not responsible for the slaughters but actually a pack of carnivorous creatures from underground called The Burrowers and they have to fight to survive.


Priest

PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his daughter's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.


Django Unchained

In 1858, a bounty hunter named Schultz seeks out a slave named Django and buys him because he needs him to find some men he is looking for. After finding them, Django wants to find his wife, Broomhilda, who along with him were sold separately by his former owner for trying to escape. Schultz offers to help him if he chooses to stay with him and be his partner. Eventually they learn that she was sold to a plantation in Mississipi. Knowing they can't just go in and say they want her, they come up with a plan so that the owner will welcome them into his home and they can find a way.


GallowWalkers

A mysterious gunman, Aman, is the son of a nun who breaks her covenant with God to ensure his survival. This act brings a curse upon Aman - all those that die by his gun will return. Soon, he is hunted by a gang of his undead former victims, led by the vicious Kansa. Aman enlists Fabulos, a new young warrior, to fight by his side.


Legend of Hell's Gate



In 1870s Texas, a ruthless bounty hunter and an Irish desperado flee the law with a young criminal claiming to possess a treasure more valuable than gold. Crossing paths with some of the West's most notorious figures, the three outlaws fight for their lives in the pursuit of fame and fortune. Fueled by an ensemble cast and inspired by actual events, The Legend of Hell's Gates blends legend and history into a Western spectacle that recounts a treacherous existence in post Civil War Texas.



Do you have a favorite Weird Western movie not listen here? Be sure to speak up and leave us a comment either here, or on facebook at www.facebook.com/geekinpodcast or twitter @Geekin_Podcast even if it's just to shout out and give some love to your favorite, listed here or not!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next installment of Weird West Week!