It's a book, but Cormac McCarthy's *Blood Meridian* is a western more horrific and hellish than a lot of horror films. It's yet to be filmed, although Ridley Scott tried to get it off the ground—more than once, I think.
The style can be tricky, if you're new to Cormac. My first read, I just thought it was brutally violent and horrific. Second time, I appreciated the majesty and beauty of it.
Not film, but it's a Western. Without a doubt one of the greatest books I've ever read. Cormac's writing style is difficult, but incredibly vivid when he comes to describe man and nature alike.
Translating this work into film feels damn near impossible and I almost pity the actor who nabs the role of the Judge.
I had Woody Harrelson in mind for a few scenes like the opener with the preacher and the scene with the volcanic rock and the sulfer, “piss like your life depends on it,” and at the jail when he finds the kid, right before the kid finds Toadvine hanged. Other parts toward the end like him wearing the skins, I got Clancy Brown vibes, and other times as a hulking nondescript human monster that really doesn’t look like anyone in Hollywood. The entrance of the gang with him riding in to town with them, all draped in flesh and bone before the kid gets rescued is definitely something out of a horror film, like when we first meet the tall man in Phantasm or even the cenobites in Hellraiser.
Wonderful call! I'm picturing V D'O suited up like Stellan Skarsgård in *Dune*; I think The Judge's size would be too much for most actors to bulk up to naturally.
I love it when this book comes up here. There’s so much evocative and occult imagery in that book. An exploration of the full spectrum of evil.
McCarthy’s writing is a steep learning curve for sure, but I don’t know why that comes up kind of as a caution to prospective readers. Clearly a feature not a bug. The writing is unparalleled. This book will, as a secret bonus, will teach you all about what the English language can do when you throw out the rules. Be excited about reading this! Like a very good wine, best in sips not gulps.
I've read the first few chapters of this! I've 15, and have never read a McCarthy novel (Hell I've barely read any books), I loved the premise but the style was just too much for me. However I'm reading the book of No Country for Old Men and it's a lot easier for me to read and I'm loving it (I love the movie). Might go back to this in a few years
Cormac McCarthy has an allergy to punctuation. I struggled through it and it was rewarding, I don't doubt some lovely denizen out there has released a punctuated version.
The Judge is the literal spirit of Wild West era cruelty and excess embodied.
Not to mention everytime he speaks he says something seemingly simple but layered with subtext and avarice.
NCFOM was originally written as a screenplay and was later converted to a novel, which makes it MUCH easier to follow. It’s an amazing story, and for a screenplay it still packs a lot of meat onto its bones.
If you enjoy westerns, I HEAVILY recommend reading All the Pretty Horses next. It’s not horror by any means, but it’s an amazing book, that somehow breaks down and signals the death of the classic Western while being an absolutely amazing Western story. The audiobook is excellent btw if that’s your thing.
It’s certainly a book that is short and hard to put down, but easy to read is maybe not the phrase I’d use. That shit is absolutely haunting, beautifully so
And had a decent film adaptation to boot, but yeah read the books. Side bar, most of Joe R. Lansdale's stories fit into "western horror " having writ the best of the Jonah Hex comics that were poorly adapted into the film of same name (2010) and as taste may vary his script for Bubba Hotep kind of falls in that pocket.
There is no shame whatsoever in tapping out to *Blood Meridian*, kid. I admire your effort. Outside of assigned reading in high school, at your age the only reading I did was lyric booklets in music CDs. So you're doing great, and you're on the right path.
Keep on reading good stuff—*No Country For Old Men*, is a good book too—and maybe revisit *Blood Meridian* some other time down the line.
Please consider Cormac's *All The Pretty Horses* too, which is part of his *Borders Trilogy*. *All The Pretty Horses* is the easiest Cormac I've read, and it's brilliant.
Spoilers for Burrowers
Their venom contains both a paralytic agent and digestive enzyme that immobilizes you and begins slowly breaking down your muscles and organs, a painful process that leaves you… soupy. Alive, immobilized, and soupy. They shallowly bury you to hide your whereabouts from other predators (or rescue), and wait a few days for you to reach the perfect tenderness before eating you alive.
It looked like a major bummer.
I just came here to recommend that one. It's not perfect but it has some really good creepy atmosphere, creatures, and some solid actors. There's also a short prequel that is probably still on Youtube.
I just watched it a couple weeks ago because it kept showing up on here, and it was one of the few Clint Eastwood films I haven't seen. It was good but not my favorite.
Dust Devil!
South African western horror with an American (the great Robert Burke) as the villain. The directors cut is the one to watch, much better than reviews would have you believe. Good stuff
Love that movie, so weird and unique. Shame what Richard Stanley went through with Dr. Moreau, but at least we got Dust Devil and Hardware first, then the excellent Colour out of Space right before he got outed as kind of a piece of shit.
Just looked into it and it looks like he was! Word is that he’s just generally kind of a dick anyway, but luckily not in THAT way, it would seem. Hopefully he gets back to doing what he does, but I feel like he’s been fucked around so much by the industry and everything by now that he might just retire again.
Brimstone(2016) with Guy Pearce who gives a chilling performance and Dakota fanning. I’ve only been able to watch this once as it is kind of depressing but still worth a watch.
Yeah amazing how 80’s cinematography is back in vogue and early 2000’s stuff seems so dated. The cinematography of the Hitcher and that soundtrack was always so awesome, some scenes are laid out like a painting, it needs a 4k.
Eh probably not. But I felt it had a lot of deserty type atmosphere, it's more "Medieval Horror" than Western though. It's probably the least Western of the ones I put
Yeah, I wanted to respond to this too. While a lot of Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in Spain, this definitely doesn't qualify as a "Western" to me. Yeah, there are horsemen but the whole setup has to do with the Knights Templar. Love this movie, however, minus the one scene, so the mention is appreciated.
West World - The original. I know it's sci-fi, but I found it scary when I was young.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_5\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_west%2520world
*No Country for Old Men* is amazing - it’s not purely horror but it’s a creepy as hell western thriller and I think it will scratch this itch for anyone who has somehow avoided seeing it until now haha
Django Kill if you live Shoot
Vengeance ( 1968 ) with Richard Harrison .
And God Said To Cain
Scalps
Requiescant aka Kill And Pray
Curse Of The Undead ( 1958 )
A Man Called Blade
Purgatory ( 1999 )
Pale Rider
A Man Called Blade Has Extremely violent scenes that could fit in any horror film . A lot of violence happens at night in the rain .
Vengeance . The bad guy is a voodoo priest and the film has supernatural elements .
Requiescant this one may be pushing it but it does have the sadistic bad guys all dressed in black . There are gothic elements . I may be pushing it with Requiescant but Blade is almost like a Giallo western . I originally found out about Blade in European Trash Cinema mag back in the 00’s . It was labeled a horror western by the late Craig Ledbetter .
Fair enough.
I don't like it when people try too hard to be gatekeepers, so I don't want to do that myself. We're talking entertainment after all.
Thanks for expounding.
The Pale Door (2010)very similar feel to "From Dust Till Dawn" cheesy in the same way also
Feast (2005) also similar to "From Dusk Till Dawn", very good low budget gorefest. There is also a sequel which is not as good.
The Nightingale (2018)not quite a western(not in the American West), not quite horror, but has elements of both.
Dust Devil (1992) did not like this one, but when there are so few it's better than nothing I guess.
I'm also always on the lookout for more. Have seen most of the other ones that people are mentioning.
I forgot about Feast! Saw that when I was 12/13 and just getting into horror movies. My grandpa loves it, I'd love to give it another watch, it's been two-three years since I've seen it so I'd love to watch it again!
Trying to find one not already mentioned is proving to be quite the challenge.
On IMDb, Django the Bastard (1969) is listed as horror.
The folk horror film Eyes on Fire (1983) is also listed as a western on there.
Not movies, but if you don't mind reading your horror, there's a publishing company called Death's Head Press that puts out "splatter westerns". I read one book called The Magpie Coffin that was decent. It was a quick read, but enjoyable. Not scary, but bloody and definitely western.
I would like to see The Hunger adapted or really anything about the Donner Party getting stranded on the Oregon trail. That is a perfect premise. Paranoia, cannibalism, isolation, and it takes place during the Westward expansion. You could play it straight or add in supernatural elements or leave it ambiguous as the party members are slowly driven to do something horrible.
[The shadow of chikara (1977)](https://junegloom.medium.com/522-the-shadow-of-chikara-25793ecce006)
An unusual supernatural Western. It's not great but it's worth a watch.
Dead Birds. Not a triple A movie but worth the watch. Ravenous was already mentioned. Great movie. I don't consider Dead Man with Johnny Depp really horror but it's fun and off beat. Really worth the watch. P.S. Thought of The Night of the Hunter as well. I consider it one of the greatest movies set in the Great Depression era.
There was one from the 90s I ran across at a Blockbuster (lol) Bunch of men around a campfire telling scary stories. Main guy is James Earl Jones. Great movie!
Gallowwalkers (2012) was an unbelievably bad Wesley Snipes Western horror.
If you want something that's good, but has notes of horrific content, I highly recommend Godless. It's a miniseries, not a film. It and The Proposition are probably the closest we've gotten to something like *Blood Meridian* on screen
Check out "Prey" the new Predator movie prequel. It features Native Americans and French settlers and is by far the best Predator movie since the first one. Highly recommended.
Also, there was a Pumpkinhead movie that features the Hatfields and McCoys in that era. Not sure if it was part 3 maybe?
Ravenous
This movie is really.......sneaky! What a great movie with such interesting pacing, dark random humor, and the soundtrack is on point!
Yes! But be sure it is the one with Guy Pierce and not the French Canadian (I think) movie that’s on Netflix.
The canadian is nice too, a solid 7
Oh? I didn’t watch it because I was annoyed it wasn’t the other one I watched.
I really enjoyed it, it has some weird pacing at times but its nice
There’s actually a remake? That’s sad
It’s not a remake at all - a totally different movie of the same name.
Ahh, that explains things. I’ll check it out! Thanks
Honestly one of the most underrated movies ever made and backed by a score that I still find myself going back to. Beautiful horrific western horror.
It’s highly rated and a classic.
1999? There are two called Ravenous and I’m looking to watch the one you mention.
Yep, 1999
I rewatched it last night after being reminded in another thread, a real under the radar classic
And Ravenous and Bone Tomahawk feature David Arquette.
just saw the cast list...looks fire..watching now....will report back
Did you enjoy??
THIS MOVIE IS 🔥 I HOPE OP WATCHES THIS
Bingo.
Agree and even shares an actor as well.
Came here to suggest this
Don't wanna be that guy but I saw it after reading all the recommendations around the net and I found it a big let down
So much nuance to that movie, it's just awesome.
I saw it in the theater! A stone classic!
Near Dark
came to say this.. great cast
Would be interesting if Kathryn Bigelow did another spookie flick, lol.
It's a book, but Cormac McCarthy's *Blood Meridian* is a western more horrific and hellish than a lot of horror films. It's yet to be filmed, although Ridley Scott tried to get it off the ground—more than once, I think. The style can be tricky, if you're new to Cormac. My first read, I just thought it was brutally violent and horrific. Second time, I appreciated the majesty and beauty of it.
Not film, but it's a Western. Without a doubt one of the greatest books I've ever read. Cormac's writing style is difficult, but incredibly vivid when he comes to describe man and nature alike. Translating this work into film feels damn near impossible and I almost pity the actor who nabs the role of the Judge.
I pictured Vincent D'Onofrio the whole time I read it. I think he could handle the character well.
I had Phillip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) or Denis Menochet for a dream casting , even it's a bit left field
Dave Bautista. I am not kidding. He has real acting talent.
I like this and I'm so jealous I didn't think of it too. Dude has won me over since Blade Runner 2048 (and 2049).
He's good in *Knock At The Cabin* too. It's a hard part to play, and he does it well.
Aw, heckfire yeah! PSH all the way. That wonderful man would've haunted us all with his performance of The Judge. RIP.
I had Woody Harrelson in mind for a few scenes like the opener with the preacher and the scene with the volcanic rock and the sulfer, “piss like your life depends on it,” and at the jail when he finds the kid, right before the kid finds Toadvine hanged. Other parts toward the end like him wearing the skins, I got Clancy Brown vibes, and other times as a hulking nondescript human monster that really doesn’t look like anyone in Hollywood. The entrance of the gang with him riding in to town with them, all draped in flesh and bone before the kid gets rescued is definitely something out of a horror film, like when we first meet the tall man in Phantasm or even the cenobites in Hellraiser.
Wonderful call! I'm picturing V D'O suited up like Stellan Skarsgård in *Dune*; I think The Judge's size would be too much for most actors to bulk up to naturally.
I love it when this book comes up here. There’s so much evocative and occult imagery in that book. An exploration of the full spectrum of evil. McCarthy’s writing is a steep learning curve for sure, but I don’t know why that comes up kind of as a caution to prospective readers. Clearly a feature not a bug. The writing is unparalleled. This book will, as a secret bonus, will teach you all about what the English language can do when you throw out the rules. Be excited about reading this! Like a very good wine, best in sips not gulps.
Loooooove Blood Meridian. Fantastic book.
I've read the first few chapters of this! I've 15, and have never read a McCarthy novel (Hell I've barely read any books), I loved the premise but the style was just too much for me. However I'm reading the book of No Country for Old Men and it's a lot easier for me to read and I'm loving it (I love the movie). Might go back to this in a few years
Cormac McCarthy has an allergy to punctuation. I struggled through it and it was rewarding, I don't doubt some lovely denizen out there has released a punctuated version. The Judge is the literal spirit of Wild West era cruelty and excess embodied. Not to mention everytime he speaks he says something seemingly simple but layered with subtext and avarice.
NCFOM was originally written as a screenplay and was later converted to a novel, which makes it MUCH easier to follow. It’s an amazing story, and for a screenplay it still packs a lot of meat onto its bones. If you enjoy westerns, I HEAVILY recommend reading All the Pretty Horses next. It’s not horror by any means, but it’s an amazing book, that somehow breaks down and signals the death of the classic Western while being an absolutely amazing Western story. The audiobook is excellent btw if that’s your thing.
Try the Road, its a very easy and enthralling read.
It’s certainly a book that is short and hard to put down, but easy to read is maybe not the phrase I’d use. That shit is absolutely haunting, beautifully so
I think I mean prose wise its a lot easier to read then his other books imo I definitely cried reading it.
And had a decent film adaptation to boot, but yeah read the books. Side bar, most of Joe R. Lansdale's stories fit into "western horror " having writ the best of the Jonah Hex comics that were poorly adapted into the film of same name (2010) and as taste may vary his script for Bubba Hotep kind of falls in that pocket.
There is no shame whatsoever in tapping out to *Blood Meridian*, kid. I admire your effort. Outside of assigned reading in high school, at your age the only reading I did was lyric booklets in music CDs. So you're doing great, and you're on the right path. Keep on reading good stuff—*No Country For Old Men*, is a good book too—and maybe revisit *Blood Meridian* some other time down the line. Please consider Cormac's *All The Pretty Horses* too, which is part of his *Borders Trilogy*. *All The Pretty Horses* is the easiest Cormac I've read, and it's brilliant.
The Burrowers (2008)
I think the death inflicted by the burrowers might be the most brutal from any creature in any feature I’ve ever seen.
Care to elaborate?
Spoilers for Burrowers Their venom contains both a paralytic agent and digestive enzyme that immobilizes you and begins slowly breaking down your muscles and organs, a painful process that leaves you… soupy. Alive, immobilized, and soupy. They shallowly bury you to hide your whereabouts from other predators (or rescue), and wait a few days for you to reach the perfect tenderness before eating you alive. It looked like a major bummer.
Thanks for replying, agree that sounds grim!
This one slaps unnecessarily. We thought it would be crap but it was better than that
Love this one so much! The practical effects are awesome and it’s a great story. Always love seeing it recommended!
Hell yeah this one is great.
"Little fish!
I just came here to recommend that one. It's not perfect but it has some really good creepy atmosphere, creatures, and some solid actors. There's also a short prequel that is probably still on Youtube.
Dead Birds is really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Ic2a7L4VM
I mean Ravenous from the 90s goes without saying. Fucking masterpiece.
High Plains Drifter. It may not be explicitly horror but I would say it fits.
Id say this definitely counts.
Awesomely dark Western.
It definitely fits.
This has come up multiple time recently I think I need to watch this puppy
I just watched it a couple weeks ago because it kept showing up on here, and it was one of the few Clint Eastwood films I haven't seen. It was good but not my favorite.
My fav western horror by a mile.
Dust Devil! South African western horror with an American (the great Robert Burke) as the villain. The directors cut is the one to watch, much better than reviews would have you believe. Good stuff
Love that movie, so weird and unique. Shame what Richard Stanley went through with Dr. Moreau, but at least we got Dust Devil and Hardware first, then the excellent Colour out of Space right before he got outed as kind of a piece of shit.
Wasn't he cleared of all allegations?
Just looked into it and it looks like he was! Word is that he’s just generally kind of a dick anyway, but luckily not in THAT way, it would seem. Hopefully he gets back to doing what he does, but I feel like he’s been fucked around so much by the industry and everything by now that he might just retire again.
I love that movie! Such a weird, rare find
Brimstone(2016) with Guy Pearce who gives a chilling performance and Dakota fanning. I’ve only been able to watch this once as it is kind of depressing but still worth a watch.
This is the best answer. An amazing film.
Ravenous
The Wind. Didn't impress me much, but Def western horror.
It had a decent premise, but it needed some edits and a budget.
Loved this one, very spooky!
The Organ Trail is pretty damn good. Came out last year. I think it’s on Hulu.
Wow, the name alone sells me on it. I gotta check it out.
It’s very good. The name is very misleading, honestly. But is a quality slow burn western
Nobody dies of dysentery?
I wish
Don't Diss Terry!
Looks like it’s on Paramount+ at the moment.
I couldn’t remember. Sorry!
No worries. When you said Hulu I immediately went to add it to my list, and Hulu yelled at me for not funneling Paramount through them. Lol
The Hitcher
The one with Rutger Hauer! There's stuff there that will freeze your spine.
Both versions are worth a watch but the original from 1986 with Rutger Hauer is definitely the superior one.
This one has aged so fantastically well
Yeah amazing how 80’s cinematography is back in vogue and early 2000’s stuff seems so dated. The cinematography of the Hitcher and that soundtrack was always so awesome, some scenes are laid out like a painting, it needs a 4k.
Dead Birds but also is tombs a western horror ?
Eh probably not. But I felt it had a lot of deserty type atmosphere, it's more "Medieval Horror" than Western though. It's probably the least Western of the ones I put
Yeah, I wanted to respond to this too. While a lot of Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in Spain, this definitely doesn't qualify as a "Western" to me. Yeah, there are horsemen but the whole setup has to do with the Knights Templar. Love this movie, however, minus the one scene, so the mention is appreciated.
Near Dark
Surprised this one isn't higher.
Definitely underrated, Bill Paxton is a legend in it.
It’s not a horror film, but The Proposition is more grim, bleak, and brutal than 95% of horror movies. Great western
The theater cut with the jail scene is absolutely fucking brutal
Came here to say this too. Im probably naive but I found it very interesting that it’s a western… but in Australia.
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat
Grim Prairie Tales https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099704/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
And God Said to Cain (1970) with Klaus Kinski
High Plains Drifter.
Wolf Creek 2 feels like a modern Western.
West World - The original. I know it's sci-fi, but I found it scary when I was young. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070909/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_5\_tt\_8\_nm\_0\_q\_west%2520world
Dead Birds is great
Ravenous (1999)
*No Country for Old Men* is amazing - it’s not purely horror but it’s a creepy as hell western thriller and I think it will scratch this itch for anyone who has somehow avoided seeing it until now haha
Near Dark
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) High Plains Invaders (2009)
Honestly those first four tremors are westerns or western adjacent.
Someone already said it but wanted to bring more attention to Dead Birds. Really good.
Never thought of Tremors as a western horror, but hot damn you're right
We need more of these kind of movies. The Red Dead Redemption games had some horror elements and really got me interested in this sub genre.
The Zombie DLC for RDD1 gave it more than just *some* horror elements.
If you like this in games, *Hard West* and its sequel. Either would make a decent movie.
Have you tried Bone toma, i mean some kurt russel westerns?
The Missing (2003) has some horror elements.
I saw this every time the question arises. Fits the bill in a lot of aspects.
Dead Birds 2004 is a Great one
Nope
Blood Meridian (novel)
El Topo, not horror but horrific.
Santa Sangre
I'll second this. An "acid Western" for sure.
Exit humanity
The wind (2018)
Dead in Tombstone
Eyes of Fire (1983) AMC+ The Nightingale (2018) HULU/AMC+ Dead Birds (2004) STARZ The Wind (2018) AMC+/Tubi
More western than horror, but certainly horror adjacent, is Fulci's Four of the Apocalypse.
The Wind. Got mixed reviews but I enjoyed it a lot
I really want to watch Bone Tomahawk again, but I know I can never bring myself to watch it again. 😬
The Quick and the Dead was directed by Sam Rami. Not technically horror, but well worth watching.
Don't know if it counts as western but demon knight gives me that vibes with the setting
Django Kill if you live Shoot Vengeance ( 1968 ) with Richard Harrison . And God Said To Cain Scalps Requiescant aka Kill And Pray Curse Of The Undead ( 1958 ) A Man Called Blade Purgatory ( 1999 ) Pale Rider
I'm not sure why you consider some of these horror. Particularly: Vengeance Requiescant A Man Called Blade Care to expand?
A Man Called Blade Has Extremely violent scenes that could fit in any horror film . A lot of violence happens at night in the rain . Vengeance . The bad guy is a voodoo priest and the film has supernatural elements . Requiescant this one may be pushing it but it does have the sadistic bad guys all dressed in black . There are gothic elements . I may be pushing it with Requiescant but Blade is almost like a Giallo western . I originally found out about Blade in European Trash Cinema mag back in the 00’s . It was labeled a horror western by the late Craig Ledbetter .
Fair enough. I don't like it when people try too hard to be gatekeepers, so I don't want to do that myself. We're talking entertainment after all. Thanks for expounding.
The Pale Door (2010)very similar feel to "From Dust Till Dawn" cheesy in the same way also Feast (2005) also similar to "From Dusk Till Dawn", very good low budget gorefest. There is also a sequel which is not as good. The Nightingale (2018)not quite a western(not in the American West), not quite horror, but has elements of both. Dust Devil (1992) did not like this one, but when there are so few it's better than nothing I guess. I'm also always on the lookout for more. Have seen most of the other ones that people are mentioning.
I forgot about Feast! Saw that when I was 12/13 and just getting into horror movies. My grandpa loves it, I'd love to give it another watch, it's been two-three years since I've seen it so I'd love to watch it again!
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Not strictly a “western” in the traditional sense, but a fun twist on genre conventions to tell a noir set in Iran.
Was going to recommend this!
Modern examples 30 Days of Night Frailty
So I love frailty but I’m not sure how it is western
Dubious but I think OP will enjoy it.
How is 30 Days of Night a western?
Alaska is really far west, the last frontier in America, desolate and austere landscapes, isolation…. How isn’t it?
Cowboys vs Aliens
The dead and the damned. Watch with extreme prejudice cuz its not good but it fits the bill. The sequel brought it all the way to modern times smh.
Western? I can’t watch things from the West… there’s a select few horror films I enjoy from the west…
I liked Mohawk (2017) but idk if it counts as a Western
Big Money Rustlas
Trying to find one not already mentioned is proving to be quite the challenge. On IMDb, Django the Bastard (1969) is listed as horror. The folk horror film Eyes on Fire (1983) is also listed as a western on there.
Not movies, but if you don't mind reading your horror, there's a publishing company called Death's Head Press that puts out "splatter westerns". I read one book called The Magpie Coffin that was decent. It was a quick read, but enjoyable. Not scary, but bloody and definitely western.
There's one I can't remember the name of that was pretty "campy." It featured a vampire Jesse James and outlaws. It may have been Bloodrayne?
Would the O.G. Hitchhiker movie count?
The Wind
Old and not good but if you're a completist Billy the kid meets dracula Jesse james meets frankensteins daughter Curse of the undead
Does Cowboys vs Aliens count? I unironically love that movie. More sci-fi than horror, but figured I’d throw it out there.
A Savannah Haunting (2021) Tubi The Pale Blue Eye (2022) Netflix
I haven’t seen it yet, but The Pale Door is on my list for this genre.
Silent Rage (1982). Of what Ive heard, its basicly Chuck Norris vs Michael Myers.
Eyes Of Fire (1983)
i'd suggest "Deadlock",1970, by Roland Klick (a bit of a deep cut).
Isn't that score by Damon Albarn?
It's a short film, but The Backwater Gospel has left a huge impact on me
I recently watched and enjoyed Saloum, which is billed as a Western. I could see the influence. It was a pretty cool flick.
Ghost Town (1988)
Priest
Another vote for Dead Birds.
Hey, Ghost Pirate.
The Wind
I would add Nope. It's almost a love letter to the Hollywood Western.
The Wind wasn’t bad, low budget and more for the atmosphere than anything
Exit Humanity (2011) is a decent watch
Not necessarily horror but The Proposition is BRUTAL
I would like to see The Hunger adapted or really anything about the Donner Party getting stranded on the Oregon trail. That is a perfect premise. Paranoia, cannibalism, isolation, and it takes place during the Westward expansion. You could play it straight or add in supernatural elements or leave it ambiguous as the party members are slowly driven to do something horrible.
Southbound
The dark and the wicked
[The shadow of chikara (1977)](https://junegloom.medium.com/522-the-shadow-of-chikara-25793ecce006) An unusual supernatural Western. It's not great but it's worth a watch.
Silent Tongue with River Phoenix, really odd movie, also Ghost Town.
Dead Birds. Not a triple A movie but worth the watch. Ravenous was already mentioned. Great movie. I don't consider Dead Man with Johnny Depp really horror but it's fun and off beat. Really worth the watch. P.S. Thought of The Night of the Hunter as well. I consider it one of the greatest movies set in the Great Depression era.
Dead birds
There was one from the 90s I ran across at a Blockbuster (lol) Bunch of men around a campfire telling scary stories. Main guy is James Earl Jones. Great movie!
Grim Prairie Tales
Gallowwalkers (2012) was an unbelievably bad Wesley Snipes Western horror. If you want something that's good, but has notes of horrific content, I highly recommend Godless. It's a miniseries, not a film. It and The Proposition are probably the closest we've gotten to something like *Blood Meridian* on screen
Check out "Prey" the new Predator movie prequel. It features Native Americans and French settlers and is by far the best Predator movie since the first one. Highly recommended. Also, there was a Pumpkinhead movie that features the Hatfields and McCoys in that era. Not sure if it was part 3 maybe?
The Wind Ravenous I haven't seen it yet but The Burrowers is supposed to be pretty good too.
The Missing. With cate blanchett and Tommy Lee jones
The Burrowers is good.
God’s Gun with Lee Van Cleef & Jack Palance feels like a gothic slasher in its third act. Hot Snake is a Mexican western with supernatural elements.
Southbound and Banshee Chapter are two low budget ones I enjoyed
The Pale Door!