Dead in Tombstone

Plot

In the Frontier of the Wild West, Red Cavanaugh is to be hanged for his crimes. Calm, he says that every man at the gallows will be dead before sunrise. Moments later, the Blackwater Gang – Darko, Washington, Snake, Baptiste, and Ramos – arrive led by his half-brother Guerrero De La Cruz. After slaughtering everyone and freeing Red, they retreat. The next morning, Red tells them about Edendale, Colorado, where gold ore is being stored in a bank until a mineral dispute can be settled. Guerrero agrees to steal it, so long as they avoid unnecessary deaths. After the seven rob the bank, Red betrays Guerrero, as he had acquired the deed to the mine and desires to take over the town. He shoots Guerrero, and despite Guerrero's orders, Red convinces the rest of the gang to turn on him; they all gun Guerrero to death.

Finding himself in hell, Guerrero meets Lucifer, whom he had seen recently in his dreams. Guerrero bargains with him, to allow him to return to Earth and to kill his former gang, so that the fires of hell can grow hotter than he alone can stoke with his flesh. Intrigued by this, Lucifer grants Guerrero 24 hours to slay all six of his betrayers or his soul will remain damned to hell; Satan tells him that only Guerrero can kill the six, dissuading him from asking for help. Guerrero wakens one year to the day of his death and makes his way back to town now called "Tombstone" in his memory.

Ramos, shaken by an omen earlier, returns to his home and witnesses two of his farmhands killed before confronting Guerrero, whom he does not immediately recognize. After Guerrero puts together his guns, an ability only two people can do, Ramos recognizes him, and he is shot to death. Taking his clothes, Guerrero has the local pastor set up six pine boxes as coffins and stations Ramos in one of them. The following morning, Baptiste and Darko discover Ramos and invade a nearby slaughterhouse. After a standoff with Baptiste and his men, Guerrero kills Baptiste but realizes he still bleeds like a mortal. Darko tells Red about the stranger killing them off, and he sends Washington to the mine to insure the man protecting them from the law is paid off in full. The gang goes to the saloon where Guerrero is and a firefight ensues. After defeating them, Guerrero sees the former sheriff's widow, Calathea, about to kill Red and stops her, but he is trampled by Red's horse as he flees town. Waking sometime later, he explains to her and Father Paul about his situation. Showing him Darko's dead body, whom he'd killed during the saloon brawl, Calathea agrees to help him, and the two make their way to the mine.

In the mine, it is revealed that Judah Clark, a Marshall, is aiding Red and protecting Red for access to the gold. They leave Washington and Snake to finish off Guerrero, but he turns the tables and kills Washington as he and Calathea escape back to town with his body. After an intense chase, they return to town. In a standoff, Guerrero kills Snake with a gunshot to the eye, but he is quickly gunned down and Calathea is captured. Lucifer, still intrigued by Guerrero's tenacity returns him to life with one hour remaining on his deadline. After a mob tries to kill Red, he takes Calathea captive and confronts his brother, who convinces him to a fair duel. Lucifer cheats with seconds remaining on the clock, and Red and Guerrero instead battle by hand. Guerrero gains the upperhand and kills Red, but two minutes after his time is up.

Entering the church, Lucifer informs Guerrero of his failure, but does not want to condemn him to hell. Instead, he forces Guerrero to kill outlaws to pay off his debt. Now with Edendale out of danger, Guerrero rides off into the countryside, looking for his next bounty to collect for hell.

Cast

Production

Danny Trejo signed on as Guerrero, leader of the Blackwater Gang. Anthony Michael Hall played Guerrero's traitorous half-brother Red. Mickey Rourke was cast as The Devil. The film was directed by Roel Reine and written by Shane Kuhn and Brendan Cowles. Filming commenced in around April 2012. Filming locations included Bucharest, Romania.

Soundtrack

For the film's music, director Reine wanted "a contemporary score for a traditional film with a unique twist". The music was composed by the British electronic music group Hybrid, comprising Michael Truman, Chris Healings and Charlotte James. The soundtrack was released on October 15, 2013, by Back Lot Records.

Release

Earlier reports stated that the film would be released in December 2012. This proved to be untrue. Dead in Tombstone was first released on digital download platforms on October 8, 2013. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 22, 2013.

Reception

Scott Weinberg of Fearnet called it "visually amusing but narratively arid". Tyler Foster of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the film wastes a great idea with inept directing. Patrick Naugle of DVD Verdict wrote that the execution does not live up to the "fascinating concept". David Maine of Pop Matters rated it 6/10 stars and called it enjoyable for what it is.