Weird West

I Travel By Night and its sequel, Last Train From Perdition, is everything I want from a Weird West story. It has a vampire gunslinger protagonist hunting down even worse creatures of the night. A vampire gunslinger villain can be fun too but I prefer when it's the protagonist. As I mentioned in my first post to this community, the game Darkwatch is my favorite Weird West property and I'm always on the lookout for something similar.

My only complaint about this series is it's only two novellas and they're both pretty short. Both books combined into one novel is only 237 pages. And if you prefer audiobooks, both books combined is only 6 hours. Also, if you have a US library card, I'd recommend listening to the audiobooks on Hoopla. There's no reason to spend your Audible credits on something so short.

Since these novellas are so short, the premise is pretty simple. The main character is essentially a private investigator and his business card shows his one rule: I Travel By Night. So he gets hired to investigate/hunt various creatures that are causing trouble.

If anyone knows of other stories with a vampire gunslinger protagonist, definitely let me know. I can never get enough.

Typically, I define the Weird West genre to be movies that take place in the Wild West and include some supernatural element. This usually means some sort of horror element like vampires or zombies, but that isn't really a requirement. So a movie with cowboys and dinosaurs fits my definition, even though it isn't really what I picture when I think of Weird West.

Yes, it has legendary Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion action, but the whole movie just seems silly to me. I don't know, I guess I'd call this one "Weird West, but I don't care to watch it".

Here's a trailer. I don't think it's streaming anywhere right now though.

According to IMDb, Curse of the Undead (1959) is the first vampire western movie. Depending on your definition, that might also make it the first Weird West movie. (If you can find an example of an even older Weird West movie, let me know!)

Now, personally, I'm not a fan of this era of Westerns. I find the John Ford/John Wayne movies boring. There's just something about 1950s Westerns that pull me out of the movie. For example, I don't like how all the costumes are perfectly clean and look brand new. It never feels like the West to me; it all just feels like a stage play. And yet 1940s film noirs don't feel like that at all in my opinion. My point is that I have no nostalgia for these Westerns and my opinion on them is entirely ignorant and most likely wrong. So this isn't exactly a recommendation; it's more of a rant.

The main plot of this movie is about a greedy land-owner trying to take over a neighboring ranch. There's a minor sub-plot about a couple people dying with bite marks on their neck, but that's never really investigated or even discussed. Anyway, while this small-time ranch is trying to hold out from being bullied into selling their land, a mysterious gunslinger shows up to help. As backstory, he happens to be a vampire. But he isn't exactly the villain of this movie and he isn't exactly terrorizing anyone. He literally spends all his time trying to help the small ranch fight back against the greedy land-owner. But the local preacher (who's in love with the ranch owner's daughter) doesn't like the gunslinger and wants him gone. Honestly, you could cut out all the parts about the gunslinger being a vampire and very little of this movie would change. The gunslinger could've just been a "sinner" and 90% of this movie would still be the same.

Anyway, if you're curious at all about watching the very first vampire western, here's a trailer. You can watch the movie right now on tubi.

I'm always surprised anytime I stumble upon a new Weird West video game and I just have to post it here. I know nothing about this game other than what's in the trailer, but apparently the developer is calling it a "Souls-Like Western". It reminds me more of the SNES Zelda game Link To The Past than a souls-like, but sure, whatever.

Enter the haunted town of Tombwater, where shadows roam and whispers echo from deep within the abandoned silver mines. Once a thriving community, now a cursed shell of what was, its people have been haunted by the darkness below. Play as a lone gunslinger, drawn to the eerie, decaying streets by the disappearance of Sheriff Elliott Flintwood—your only friend in a town lost to madness. To uncover the truth, you must face the terrors lurking in the cursed depths and confront what festers in the heart of Tombwater.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3308200/Tombwater/

This game releases tomorrow but there's a demo you can play on steam right now. It's another top-down roguelike that we see everywhere these days.

It's got a pretty unique game mechanic where during the day you collect resources to unlock items and when the night comes you have to fight off a zombie horde and survive until sunrise. Simple enough gameplay loop, but it's a roguelike so I wasn't expecting it to be too complex. Anyway, there's a demo; give it a try.

I want to start off by saying I haven't played this game. The trailer makes it look like a solid Weird Western though.

I remember watching the trailer for Hunt: Showdown but it looked like the entire game took place in a swamp so I wasn't interested. Since I wasn't paying attention, I'm not sure at what point Hunt: Showdown became Hunt: Showdown 1896 but I don't think they're separate games. As far as I can tell, Hunt: Showdown 1896 replaced Hunt: Showdown and is more of a Western now. But maybe someone else can explain the differences.

Unfortunately, it looks like I might be coming to this game a bit too late because right as I realized it was a Weird West game, it was in the middle of being review-bombed:

So this post isn't so much a recommendation as it is a request for more information. Have any of you played it? Is it good? Does that recent review bombing actually represent the game getting worse?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/594650/Hunt_Showdown_1896/

This looks like your standard "gunslinger shooting demons in the Wild West" setting, but of course that's what I'm here for so I'm ok with it. Also, they called this the "launch" trailer but I'm pretty sure it's actually just a "reveal" trailer since the game isn't out yet. They claim it'll release in Q4 of this year though, so maybe it's close.

Official synopsis:

Altarium is a first-person, asymmetric PVP Co-Op horror game that can be played by 1-5 players together. Players can choose to play as either the victim or the evil character. Get ready, choose your role, shape your destiny, and survive!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2524700/Altarium/

Deadlands is an RPG originally published in 1993. It's been through a few iterations and currently is under Savage Worlds rules, I think.

This very old book is from the original run.

What happens if the supernatural comes back to the world during the American Civil War? Well you get gunslingers dealing with hucksters, people who make deals with demons to sling magic and Blessed running around trying to save the world with Mad scientists makings thing better (or far worse) while all dealing with blood thirsty tumbleweeds (tumblebleeds) and the dealing with the Reckoners, unknown True Evils.

The original system was its own creation, using a deck of cards including 2 jokers and multiple types of dice, it was an exciting system. Eventually the old system was replaced a free times and it's currently published under Savage Rules.

I can only talk on the original system, quite liking the use of decks of cards for initiative and other uses. Combat could be quite slow, but it is a very flavorful system.

This is a bad photo, but it's the book from our shelf!

I know I typically define the "weird" in "Weird West" to mean supernatural, but this time I'm just going with straight weird. Also, I've run out of recommendations that would typically fit this genre so now I'm loosening the definition a bit just to keep this Lemmy community (somewhat) active.

You know how you can take a phrase in one language, translate it into another language, and then translate it back to the original language and it's almost what you started with but isn't quite right? Well this movie is taking the Japanese movie Yojimbo, translating it to English as A Fistful Of Dollars and then translating it back into Japanese to be called Sukiyaki Western Django. It's a very strange movie.

The core plot of "two warring gangs in a small Western town being shaken up when a stranger with no allegiance arrives" is still here, but everything is just... strange. And Quentin Tarantino occasionally shows up as the narrator. I struggle with calling this a "good" movie. it definitely knows what it's doing and has its own style, but I'm not entirely sure I understand what they were going for.

Here's a trailer. You can watch it anywhere: Amazon, Peacock, Tubi, Pluto, Kanopy, anywhere.

Oblivion (1994) is a terrible movie. And it technically takes place in the future, which I try not to include as Weird Westerns or else the definition of "Western" becomes a bit vague (I believe Space Western is a separate genre). But this really is just a Western with aliens (they don't go into space), so I'm including it.

Also, this movie has George Takei, and the writers really took advantage of that. They gave him lines like "Jim, Beam me up" while drinking Jim Beam, and "great Scotty!" when surprised. I guess he really needed a paycheck in 1994.

Here's a trailer, but honestly, I wouldn't recommend watching the actual movie. RiffTrax (the guys behind Mystery Science Theater 3000) made their own audio commentary for this movie which makes it bearable. Plus that's the version available on streaming. You can watch the RiffTrax version of Oblivion on Tubi and Pluto. I should mention there's somehow a sequel to Oblivion, called Oblivion: Backlash which also has RiffTrax versions on Tubi and Pluto.

When I watched the trailer Netflix had for RIPD 2, it just showed a clip of the main character in limbo where the RIPD is explained to him. So I just assumed it'd be like the first RIPD where even though Jeff Bridges plays a gunslinger, the movie actually takes place in the modern day. And I ignored this movie. It's not like the original RIPD was any good, why would a low-budget sequel be better?

But, I finally decided to watch RIPD2 and it's totally a Weird Western. The entire movie takes place in the wild west and they're hunting down demons that escaped hell. Here's a trailer that actually shows the movie and not just a single scene like Netflix showed me.

Of course, just because this movie is a Weird Western doesn't mean it's a good movie. Actually, if you look at the other movies I've mentioned in this community, they're almost exclusively bad movies. And this is another dumb one. It's mostly the lame jokes that irritate me. Also, personally, I don't think there were enough "weird" parts in the movie. They're hunting down demons but there actually aren't too many special effects until the last act. So that's disappointing too.

If you're willing to try it, the movie is still available to watch on Netflix. And maybe Apple TV+.

This movie is from 2020 yet I've never heard of it. And it looks like it perfectly fits my definition of a Weird West too. I have no idea if this movie is any good but I still wanted to share. It looks like it's streaming on Hoopla and Shudder if you have either of those.

This is a VR-only game so I haven't tried it but the trailer makes it look like a Weird West game for anyone interested. There's also a demo available during Steam Next Fest.

I'll be honest with you, I don't play D&D and don't fully understand if this new class is "official" in any way. I just like the artwork and the name Spellslinger so I figured I'd post it here.

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/482150/Pandemonium-Spellslinger--DD-5e-Sorcerer-Subclass

Still my favorite book of all time. Plenty of mystical and crazy in the 1850s southwest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian

Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness in the West is a 1985 epic historical novel by American author Cormac McCarthy, classified under the Western, or sometimes the anti-Western, genre.[1][2] McCarthy's fifth book, it was published by Random House.

Set in the American frontier with a loose historical context, the narrative follows a fictional teenager from Tennessee referred to as "the kid", with the bulk of the text devoted to his experiences with the Glanton gang, a historical group of scalp hunters who massacred American Indians and others in the United States–Mexico borderlands from 1849 to 1850 for bounty, sadistic pleasure, and eventually out of nihilistic habit. The role of antagonist is gradually filled by Judge Holden, a physically massive, highly educated, preternaturally skilled member of the gang with pale and hairless skin who takes extreme sadistic pleasure in the destruction and domination of whatever he encounters, including children and docile animals.

Although the novel initially received lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it has since become highly acclaimed and is widely recognized as McCarthy's magnum opus and one of the greatest American novels of all time.[3] Some have labelled it the Great American Novel.[4] After multiple unsuccessful attempts to adapt the novel into a film, New Regency is currently set to produce a feature film based on the novel.

Ninjas wouldn't usually be considered "weird" enough for a Weird Western but this is a highly-stylized movie where the ninjas can basically fly. They might as well be mythical creatures given how ridiculously they're portrayed here.

Of course, like most movies I've mentioned here, this isn't a good movie. So lower any expectations. It takes a while to get started and basically the first half of the movie is "slice of life" as the main character settles into his new life. Also, there's something weird with the lighting where I can't tell if the entire movie was filmed on a sound stage or if all the backgrounds are cgi (probably both).

Here's a trailer. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Vudu, and Plex.

According to the synopsis, this game is a "Wild West-themed roguelite FPS" where you play as a "gunslinger in limbo, involved in a gritty war against "The Cartel", a ruthless organization harvesting souls to break free of the shackles of the afterlife." So that sounds like a Weird West to me!

Just from watching the video, I wasn't sure if it'd be a Weird West or not. Some of the architecture looks Western but other parts just look like ancient ruins. It's weird how the architecture is the deciding factor here, since there's also the game Witchfire which looks to have the same game mechanic of casting spells with a gun. But Witchfire definitely uses more European/Medieval architecture in their level design. So Witchfire doesn't appear to be a Weird Western to me. Yet given the synopsis for Soulslinger, I'll say that one is a Weird Western. It's weird where I draw the line.

Anyway, Soulslinger is in Early Access on Steam and Witchfire is in Early Access on the Epic Games Store.

In the pinned post on this community I said I was no expert on the genre and just a casual fan who wanted to share the few Weird West works I've found. I tried to drag this out as long as I could and keep the community active by only posting one thing each day but I've finally run out of things to post. You're still welcome to post here if you want, but I expect this community will just sit idle with no one actively trying to post content anymore.

I could try posting random things that almost kind of look Weird West, but I'd rather not. Otherwise, I'll end up posting things like Priest. Priest takes place in a cyberpunk future dominated by the Catholic church and under constant threat of vampire attacks. But if you leave the cyberpunk city, suddenly it's the Wild West. There's no explanation given as to why everyone dresses and talks like it's the Wild West as soon as you leave the futuristic cyberpunk city. But Karl Urban plays the villain, a vampire named Black Hat. So that's pretty great.

It's a fun movie as long as you don't question anything. And it's a Weird West as long as you ignore all the cyberpunk stuff. See, that's the best I've got and it's a quite a stretch.

If I come across any other Weird West content I'll be sure to post it here, but I'm not going to force myself to come up with something every day. I just wanted to make this post to let everyone know this community is about to get a lot quieter. Thanks!

I know the poster makes it look animated, but this is a live action movie. It comes from the man behind the bands Misfits and Danzig. Which is to say, he's not a filmmaker. Or wasn't until recently. So even if you've set your expectations low, this sounds like a truly terrible movie.

I haven't seen it, but I found a review:

There isn’t really a story to be found in Death Rider in the House of Vampires; just a setup that allows a bunch of characters to interact. Sometimes there’s a shootout; sometimes vampires are turned to dust.
...
There is no economy of storytelling here. Or ever. These opening ten minutes of screen time could easily be combined into three or four, and Death Rider would be better for it. It’s true throughout the film’s 90-minute runtime – there’s maybe an hour of material that’s been padded out

So I'd only recommend this to fans of Weird West who have a high tolerance for terrible movies. Here's a trailer. I can't find it streaming anywhere though.

...And another Weird Western I've never actually seen. Honestly, it looks a bit too silly for my tastes but it definitely falls within the category of modern day Weird West. Have any of you seen it? Is it worth watching?

Here's a trailer. You can watch it on Netflix, and I guess I could too!

Didn't see any posts about it in here yet so thought I'd share!

I mentioned in the pinned post on this community that once I start posting Weird West movies that take place in the modern day you'll know I'm starting to run out of ideas. Well, we've reached that point.

Ghost Town takes place in the modern day (of 1988, when the movie was made). It's about a girl who gets kidnapped by a bunch of zombies in an old west ghost town and only a modern-day sheriff can save her. I'll be honest with you, I've never seen this movie. I just came across it while looking for lists of Weird West movies and this looks right up my alley. I wish it was streaming somewhere.

Here's a trailer. And seriously, let me know if you find it streaming somewhere.

I may be limiting myself too much, but so far I've been defining Weird West as fiction that takes place in 1800s America and incorporates supernatural/fantasy elements. That is to say, I haven't been including any Space Westerns. What defines supernatural/fantasy may be a bit broad, but whether something takes place in 1800s America has been pretty easy to determine.

So I was trying to think of any anime I've seen that might qualify as Weird West. And yet all I can think of are actually futuristic anime that happen to look Western. GUNxSWORD, Cannon Busters, and Trigun all look Western yet they all take place on some distant planet in the future. The closest thing I can find is Gun Frontier, which I'm pretty sure is just a straight-forward Western with no "Weird" elements (I haven't seen it).

Does anyone know of any Weird West anime? Or does all anime that takes place in a "Western" setting actually take place in the future? Given how much anime is out there, I have to assume some Weird West anime exists and I've just never heard of it.