Casey Chong with ten great neo-Westerns you need to see…
The old-fashioned John Wayne era of Western movies may be long gone but certainly not forgotten. And while the Western genre itself is no longer the box-office guarantee it once was back in the day, it still has its place in contemporary cinema, particularly via the neo-Western. This particular subgenre updates its classic Western themes and archetypes, shifting the location and setting, as well as combining different elements from action thrillers to crime dramas, horrors and even comedies. Here are ten great neo-Westerns worth checking out if you’re yet to do so…
Extreme Prejudice (1987)
This testosterone-driven Extreme Prejudice is a quintessential yet sadly underappreciated Walter Hill movie: a hard-edged War on Drugs action thriller with neo-Western undertones. The movie even reunites the director with his 48 Hrs. star Nick Nolte as a no-nonsense Texas Ranger Jack Benteen who’s out to stop his childhood friend-turned-drug trafficker played by the incomparably sleazy Powers Boothe as Cash Bailey. Complicating matters is a member of Zombie Unit led by Michael Ironside’s Major Paul Hackett, who is on a shady mission with his fellow soldiers reportedly killed in action.
The storytelling parallel between Jack and Cash’s feud and the Zombie Unit’s mission and how it all connects to each other may have taken some time to get to the point, resulting in a clunky pace. And yet, Hill’s muscular direction powers through with enough stakes and has plenty of visceral action set pieces to keep you engaged. He also goes as far as paying homage to Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, evidently in the climactic shootout massacre in the dusty Mexican town.
Last Man Standing (1996)
Another Walter Hill movie fiasco which is actually much better than Last Man Standing’s dismal box office suggested. Using Akira Kurosawa’s seminal samurai classic Yojimbo as a major inspiration and repackaging it into a mix of neo-Western and gangster genres, Hill brings a propulsive yet stylized look at the Prohibition-era story of a mysterious wanderer John Smith (a perfectly apathetic Bruce Willis), who finds himself caught in the middle of a war between the Irish and Italian mafia.
The stylized part of the movie comes from Hill’s surprisingly John Woo-like gunfights, complete with Peckinpah-esque slow-motion violence. Bruce Willis’s John Smith is clearly depicted as a mythical gunslinger reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s The Man with No Name character, who is quick on the draw. The only significant difference here is John Smith shoots with two pistols. Last Man Standing also gets a boost from Ry Cooder’s distinctly jazzy score while Lloyd Ahern’s cinematography captures the foreboding, sun-baked aesthetics of a town filled with dread.
Vampires (1998)
Generic title aside, John Carpenter’s big-screen adaptation of John Steakley’s 1990 novel of the same name combines neo-Western and vampire-horror tropes. Added an entertaining B-movie vibe and James Woods’s stern and cocky leader of the vampire hunter, and the result is a fun little movie.
The action-packed opening sequence starts promisingly with Carpenter establishing Woods’s Jack Crow and his team raiding the vampires occupying the abandoned New Mexico house. The movie also introduces the formidable and charismatic Jan Valek played by Thomas Ian Griffith. Even though Vampires barely made an impact at the box office, the movie manages to spawn not one but two direct-to-video sequels including Vampires: Los Muertos and Vampires: The Turning.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
No neo-Western movie list would be complete without mentioning No Country for Old Men, which won the Coen Brothers the coveted Best Picture Oscar. The movie also brought home three more statuettes, notably Javier Bardem’s unforgettable Best Supporting Actor win as the ruthless hitman Anton Chigurh, who takes pleasure in killing his victims. This is especially true with his penchant for deciding one’s fate by tossing a coin.
Chigurh’s icy-cold stare evokes a dread-inducing air of malevolence, coupled with his character’s apathetic personality, makes him a terrifying and unforgettable antagonist. The Coen brothers’ deeply cynical take on the neo-Western genre allows them to navigate their movie into uncharted territory, one that subverts the expectations of an otherwise classic good vs. evil storytelling.
Wind River (2017)
Taylor Sheridan’s fascination for the contemporary American West frontier in Wind River sees the writer-director combine neo-Western with a murder mystery and crime procedural. It’s solid filmmaking that emphasizes more on the deliberate pacing with well-established characters backed by Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen’s engaging performances. Sheridan doesn’t shy away from the matter-of-fact depiction of sexual assault and violence with the movie’s unrelenting Wyoming wilderness location served as an added characteristic to the foreboding nature of its storytelling.
The story also delves into the narrative depth of the grim realities and lawlessness suffered by the Native American people, which highlights Sheridan’s directorial prowess (this is only his second feature after 2011’s Vile) beyond his flair for screenwriting. Wind River builds up to a thrilling payoff of an all-hell-breaks-loose Mexican standoff – a perfect closure that establishes Taylor Sheridan as one of the most promising filmmakers working today.
The Last Stand (2013)
The Last Stand may have failed to light up the box office at the time of its release. But it’s hard to deny the involvement of acclaimed South Korean director Kim Jee-Woon, best known for his works in A Tale of Two Sisters and I Saw the Devil, making his Hollywood debut. Essentially a contemporary take on Howard Hawks’s Rio Bravo, this neo-Western action thriller welcomes the big-screen return of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a lead role – his first since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and his career shift serving as the Governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
The highlight of The Last Stand includes the final 30-minute, action-packed showdown in the sleepy Arizona town of Sommerton Junction as Schwarzenegger’s Sheriff Ray Owens and his team (among them played by Johnny Knoxville and Luis Guzman) stops the wanted drug kingpin (Eduardo Noriega) from crossing the border. At the time, Schwarzenegger was 65 years old and despite his age, he still has what it takes to lead an action movie with his signature wisecracking charisma.
The Way of the Gun (2000)
Pre-Mission: Impossible, Christopher McQuarrie was primarily known for his crafty Usual Suspects screenplay, but he also made his directorial debut with 2000’s The Way of the Gun, which follows two lowlife criminals (Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro) who find themselves in deep trouble following their kidnapping of a surrogate mother for ransom played by Juliette Lewis.
This neo-Western gets a character-driven boost from Phillippe and del Toro’s conflicted antihero portrayals while the late James Caan steals the show as the mob enforcer. McQuarrie’s knack for a complex storyline weaving through the bends and curves keeps one engaged throughout the movie. And after all the build-up, he culminates his movie with a shootout finale that owes a lot to Sam Peckinpah, showcasing his impressive staging and technical precision in the action department.
Desperado (1995)
Robert Rodriguez got his start pioneering a scrappy one-man film crew in his 1992 no-budget El Mariachi debut, which inspired a lot of indie filmmakers. Three years later, he’s back with a better, bigger-budgeted sequel and even recast Carlos Gallardo in favor of the roguishly charming Antonio Banderas as the lead character.
Rodriguez retains the economical storytelling of one man’s quest for vengeance as Antonio’s character with a guitar case full of guns shoots the bad guys. The action is violent and stylish which feels like a bullet-ridden cross of Sam Peckinpah meets John Woo. Desperado also features memorable supporting roles including Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida and Quentin Tarantino, where the latter appears in a witty cameo appearance.
The Order (2024)
Based on true events, Justin Kurzel journeys into the methodical filmmaking style of Michael Mann in The Order, which features arguably the career-best performances from Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult. Brimming with the neo-Western element of good vs. evil as the story follows Law’s grizzled, seen-it-all FBI agent Terry Husk determines to stop the neo-Nazi leader Bob Mathews (a formidable Nicholas Hoult) and his gang of supremacists at all costs.
The movie’s cat-and-mouse game between the two from the opposing sides of the law is paced deliberately instead of a straightforward action-packed thrill, allowing Kurzel to build up the suspense as the story goes along. The action may have been sparse but worth the wait with notable scenes such as the relentless Terry attempting to stop a getaway van with a shotgun, which also showcases Kurzel’s deft handling in the action set pieces.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Before David Slade sold his soul to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, his first two movies – Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night – demonstrated his impressive flair for genre know-how direction. For the latter, he adapted Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s graphic novel of the same name and gives it a blood-soaked spin of a vampire horror with a neo-Western vibe. This is especially true with Josh Hartnett’s Sheriff Eben Oleson’s dutiful dedication to protect his sleepy town of Barrow in Alaska against a group of bloodthirsty vampires led by the intimidating Danny Huston as Marlow.
The movie’s confined setting in the wintry Barrow and harsh weather echoes the siege thriller of John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13, albeit in a bigger location. Slade hits hard with the movie’s R-rating as he fulfills the genre requirement with plenty of graphic violence, gore, and frightening make-up effects.
What are your favourite Neo-Westerns? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
