Time: 140 Minutes
Cast:
Addison Chapman as Short
Chandler Balli as Skinny
Gary Metivier as Brass Parker
Travis Prine as Jed Blackwood
Kelly Kidd as Mad Dog Matt Moses
Aaron Vargas as G.K. Shotgun
Alana Phillips as Blink
Katerina Townsend as Sarah
Sammy Wilson as Sheriff William Cooper
Director: Chandler Balli

I was interested in watching Death After Dusk mainly because I actually know some of the people who were involved with making it, including the director, Chandler Balli. Beyond that I only knew that it was a western going in, so I was very interested in seeing what they made here, and I was very impressed.

Death After Dusk is essentially a western, but is also partially a slasher and murder mystery. While it does take from a lot of other movies, not only from classic westerns but also horror films and whodunnits, it is also paying homage to them while feeling like its own thing. It was also especially seeing another recent western as we don’t get too much of nowadays. The movie starts off with a simple premise about bounty hunters tracking down a serial killer, but as it progresses it becomes something more. It is surprisingly lengthy at 2 hours and 20 minutes, with some in depth conversations, decent character development, great twists and turns, and a lot more than it initially appears to be. I think it really made the most of that runtime.

Everyone in the cast fit their roles well. Chandler Balli and Addison Chapman are great as the leads; their characters’ backstories are simple but effective and well established, they anchor the story well, and they have a very believable dynamic. The supporting cast including Gary Metivier, Alana Phillips, Norman Wilson, Kelly Kidd, Travis Lee Prine, Aaron Vargas, and Joe Baire are all very good too.

While you can tell that this movie was made on a lower budget, it does a lot with it, especially considering how ambitious the movie is. Chandler Balli directs this with such a great and assured style. The cinematography is beautiful, the sets are top notch with the main Texas town setting being very believable, and the costumes are on point and amazing. The gunfights and scenes of action are great especially with the stunts, and the music was really good too.

Death After Dusk is a bold, ambitious, and passionately made indie western mystery thriller, beautifully shot, wonderfully directed, and with great performances.