Trailer Trashin’: Wesley Snipes’ Gallowwalkers Finally Sees the Light of Day

The 85^th Academy Awards have come and gone, and with the release of Jack the Giant Slayer this Friday, the season of big movies is about to begin. But now it’s time to look at a film that is not high-profile and unlikely to receive any mainstream awards love. This week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’ looks at the first trailer for the long-delayed horror Western Gallowwalkers.

Premise: When a nun broke her covenant with God to save the life of Aman, her unborn son, he was cursed for life. As an adult, Aman (Wesley Snipes) has killed those who have crossed him. But his curse brings his victims back to life, and as the undead, they pursue him endlessly for revenge. Forever suffering this curse, Aman enlists Fabulos (Riley Smith), a young gunman, to fight by his side against his undead victims.

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My take: It’s often interesting to look at cases of movies that have sat on the shelf – a film that is finished and basically ready to release, but is not released. This can happen for any number of reasons, such as higher-ups being unhappy with the finished product, the distributor getting into financial trouble, or the film being too similar to another one that just came out. One such delayed film is Gallowwalkers. The film was originally shot in 2006, but for reasons which include Wesley Snipes’ legal issues was not finished in 2010, and premiered at the Film4 FrightFest in 2012. Now the movie is finally going to be released sometime later this year, and the first trailer has arrived. While it doesn’t look like a great movie, it looks like a lot of cheesy fun.

In terms of the cast, the main focus is obviously on Wesley Snipes as the cursed gunman Aman. Snipes just seems so at home in these kind of roles, and it’s great to see him in a movie again. Riley Smith, who got his start in films like Bring It On (2000), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), and Radio (2003), plays the young gunman Fabulos, who becomes a sidekick of sorts for Aman. Model and actress Tanit Phoenix, whose highest-profile previous films were Lord of War (2005) and Spud (2010), plays a woman named Angel. Kevin Howarth plays a character known as either Connor Foster or Kansa, depending on which site you read, who is the pale guy with the long white hair that I assume is the main villain. Irish actor Patrick Bergin, probably best known as Julia Roberts’ abusive husband in Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), plays the lawman Marshall Gaza. English actor Steven Elder, who has had small roles in more TV shows than I care to name here, plays a priest with the awesome name Apollo Jones. Former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page plays a character named Scorpius, who has to be a villain. Veteran actress Jenny Gago, most recently seen on the TV series Southland, plays a character known only as “Mistress.” And Czech actress Simona Brhlikova plays a knife-wielding villain named Kisscut.

I think the action and horror elements look pretty cool. I really love the aesthetic of the Western genre, and the production design and costuming all look cool. There are gunfights aplenty as well as some hand-to-hand stuff to keep things interesting. There is also plenty of gore on display, and the way that Aman disposes of the undead by taking off their heads makes me think of a Mortal Kombat fatality. And I love some of the weird, macabre little touches, like the guy with his mouth stitched shut and the dude with the spiked helmet.

Of course, I could nitpick a number of things about the film, such as the archetypal characters and the on-the-nose dialogue. But the only real issue I have is a nagging question related to the nature of Aman’s curse. Why doesn’t he just try to not kill people? Wouldn’t just injuring people but leaving them alive work out better for him? I know that the real answer is, “because otherwise there wouldn’t be a movie,” but it would be nice if this issue is at least brought up in the actual film.

In the end, this looks like it could be a ton of fun, although I freely admit that I’m a sucker for period genre films like this – I am the guy who gave positive reviews to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, after all. With solid action and an interesting, eclectic cast, this could be a really entertaining watch. Whether it gets a theatrical release or just goes straight-to-video, I definitely plan to check out Gallowwalkers at some point.

ANTICIPATION: I’m glad it’s finally coming out, and I want to see it.

Release Date: TBA 2013

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Riley Smith, Tanit Phoenix, Patrick Bergin, Steven Elder, Diamond Dallas Page, Jenny Gago, Laia Marull, Simona Brhlikova, Alyssa Pridham, Alex Avant, Hector Hank, and Jonathan Garcia
Director: Andrew Goth
Writers: Andrew Goth and Joanne Reay