WhileWestern moviesare mostly basic stories of good versus evil, others take a different stance on the concept, adding a more supernatural twist to the tales.Westerns are one of the oldest genresin Hollywood history, dating back to the silent era, alongside gangster and horror movies. For many years, it was always about Cowboys and the Wild West.
TheseWesterns often took the form of revenge filmsand tales of settlers making their way in the New World. At some point,Westerns began to merge with genres like horrorand the supernatural, resulting in a darker and more violent style.Whether it involves demons, vampires, or the occult,supernatural Westerns deliver something different.
Released in 2004,Dead Birdsis a Western that blends horror and the supernatural into a solid entry into the genre. The setting is the American Civil War, where a group of Confederate deserters commit a bank robbery. However, when they stop and hide out at an abandoned plantation,they realize too late that there is a demonic presence there.
Setting the Western at an abandoned plantationwas a unique choice for the movie, as it took the action away from the typical Wild West towns. However, it played well into the horror aspects, which included demons possessing the characters and leading them against each other. While a limited release, it received mostly positive reviews for its Lovecraftian themes.
As the title suggests,Billy the Kid Versus Draculais a Western horror movie, but one that plays out a bit campier than others. It was released at the same time asJesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, and the two served as a double feature. Both movies were shot in a total of eight days by director William Beaudine, Sr.
John Carradine played Dracula, and while he called it the worst movie he ever did, it has something for cult fans who love bad films. It tried to sell its story with two well-known icons, Billy the Kid and Dracula, which slightly drags the movie down; however, it remains a cult favorite and even received a Kino Lorber Blu-ray release.
Released in 2020,The Pale Dooris a Western horror with Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep) as executive producer. The movie follows two brothers whose parents were killed by armed thieves. When the brothers grow up, one of them offers to help with a train heist, butthey don’t get gold; instead, they find a captured woman in a chest.
They offer to return her home for a reward, but then learn her home is a coven of witches who want to use them to sustain their lives. The two brothers then end up in a battle for their lives against the witches. Critics were mixed on the film, but a positive review praised the practical effects and horror elements.
Blueberry is a comic book adaptation starring Vincent Cassel as Mike Blueberry, a town marshal who maintains peace between his town of white settlers and a Native American tribe. However,he finds peace threatened when an evil white sorcerer arrivesin town.
However, the cast helps elevate it, featuring Michael Madsen, Juliette Lewis, Temuera Morrison, Djimon Hounsou, and even Ernest Borgnine.
The French acid Western film then sees the marshal use psychedelic drugs to release memories to help him save his town. Although it is based on a comic, it bears almost no resemblance to the original source material. However, the cast helps elevate it, featuring Michael Madsen, Juliette Lewis, Temuera Morrison, Djimon Hounsou, and even Ernest Borgnine.
The Burrowersis a Western horror film that follows a rescue party searching for a family that has gone missing. However, the rescue party has to find a way to save themselves when they realize the missing family was due tomysterious underground creatures that have since targeted the search partyitself.
The movie has terrifying scenes, and the fact that the monsters drag paralyzed victims underground to eat once decomposition has begun offers up some disturbing visuals. The film also details the distrust of the Native Americans and white men, as even with the evidence of the monsters, they still blame each other for the deaths and never stop the creatures.
An acid Westernis the term used to describe Westerns that gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing themes from acclaimed Westerns and incorporating beliefs of the counterculture of the era, as well as potential drug influences. Themost acclaimed of these is Alejandro Jodorowsky’sEl Topo.It stars Jodorowsky as the titular character on a journey of enlightenment.
Using surrealist images and ideals borrowed from spaghetti Westerns, El Topo sets off across a desert with his naked son and encounters a tribe of deformed outcasts. With several cultists, Christian symbolism, including stigmata, and supernatural elements, it might be one of the strangest Western movies ever made, and it remains a cult classic.
Jim Jarmusch took on the acid Western genre in 1995 withDead Man.Johnny Depp stars as an accountant named William Blake, who goes on the run after killing someone. Hesets out on a journey with a Native American spirit guidenamed Nobody (Gary Farmer), who believes that Blake is the reincarnation of the English poet William Blake.
As with most Jarmusch movies, there is more symbolism and high themes than action, but he does add horror into the story as Blake ends up having visions, and his quest leads him to violence, though some might be all in his head. The film remains a supernatural experience, as questions persist about whether Blake was alive at all.
Pale Rider was one of twoClint Eastwood Westerns that hinted at dark supernaturalelements. While not as good as High Plains Drifter, this movie mostly confirmed that Eastwood was a supernatural character, whereas the previous film had only hinted at it.Eastwood plays the pale horse’s ghost riderwho comes into town and delivers death.
InPale Rider,a mining baron is waging war against prospectors and their families, and after one young girl prays for a miracle, a stranger known only as The Preacher, riding a pale horse (Eastwood), rides into town.
He then kills all the bad guys and the corrupt law enforcement, including a corrupt marshal who knows that The Preacher is a man he had murdered in the past.
Near Darkis a straight horror movie, but it takes place in the small Western towns of the Southwest. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow,it’s one of the best vampire movies ever,even though the creatures are never once referred to by that word. The movie begins with a young vampire drifter named Mae, who encounters a potential recruit.
The cast is amazing, with Lance Henricksen, Jenette Goldstein, Jenny Wright, Adrian Pasdar, andan incredible Bill Paxton as Severen,the most violent of the vampires in the film. While this takes place in modern times, it is as much a Western horror movie as anything and deserves to remain remembered for its contributions to the vampire genre.
One of the most iconic Western movies with supernatural elements is theClint Eastwood filmHigh Plains Drifter.The movie has a similar setup to his later movie,Pale Rider. However, this earlier movie leaves it up to the viewers to decide whetherEastwood’s mysterious stranger is a ghost or a demon, only hinting at the possibility.
The movie starts with the Stranger riding into town and immediately assaulting a local woman, making him seem like the villain. However, as the film progresses, he sets his sights on local outlaws and has nightmares of a lawman being murdered. That’s where the supernatural elements come into play, as the film suggests he is the lawman reincarnated for revenge.
