If you’re going to make a dialog-heavy movie, well-written lines and actors who can deliver them well are a must. Alas, this Western suffers from a budget that didn’t allow for those elements
It starts with a poorly staged train robbery by a group of a group of, yes, outlaws. After escaping to the woods where they set up camp, they awaken to find their bag of loot from a daring train empty and replaced with rocks.
But which one of them took it? Everyone is a suspect. And they take turns high-stakes interrogating each other with acting so bad that you lose your concentration. I don’t want to pile on, but one actor has decided that the cowboy he plays will never use contractions; so, every line he utters is like this: “I will not, you should not, he is a very, you are a very, etc.” It will have you throwing food at the wall.
I really don’t like to slag off a movie. Films are hard to make, and just getting a release is a level that the vast, vast majority of filmmakers will never reach. And with a low budget, dollars will determine whether you can make a Western that looks and feels like one, or a movie where an inordinate amount of time is spent talking. Horses, wide open vistas- these things cost money.
Speaking of which, Eric Roberts shows up for a one scene paycheck so that his name can be put on the poster—that’s the second time this week (he also did a one scene appearance in Lumina) and, I swear to you, he seems to be wearing the same duster and hat on both movies!
The run time is a mercifully short 70 minutes, or maybe they ran out of money and couldn’t get it to 90.
The Outlaws is available to stream On Demand and Digital from July 12th
