Ghost Town, Western Horror 2023

A character study laid out in this indie horror “Ghost Town” is available for rent and on DVD from March 7th. Distributed by Uncork’d Entertainment the story follows a man called Solomon who wanders into a broken-down bar in the middle of the desert. A crooked sheriff and a righteous sidekick take care of any wrongdoings with some burnings in the street from time to time. When the bar’s owner Hagan gives Solomon a chance by employing him to work the bar and clean the piss pots, he thinks his luck might have changed.

I thought Ghost Town was trying to be narratively similar to one of my favorite horror movies, Southbound but instead, it takes a more somber route and tells the story of one man’s torment. The runtime eventually starts to drag, weighed down by a bit of confusion as the story ramps up. Is it a love story between Solomon and one of the prostitute characters that turns sour? Is it a case of one man’s redundant bad luck in that some bad guys come in and try to rob him one day resulting in him killing them all? His messy downfall was an aspect I struggled to understand in full.

Is Ghost Town a Good Movie?

The performances in Ghost Town are what you would expect of a budget-challenged independent film. While writer-director Owen Conway did an impressive job wearing as many hats as he could, including playing the lead, there were times when some of the more serious moments became slightly comical. Not from any of the main characters, mind you.

Makeup effects are a bit rough at times but to be honest, I’ve seen markedly worse. There is something to be said for indie movies that opt out of on-screen gore to save cash and I think that was the right choice here. While lots of filmmakers like to darken the lighting to cover these sorts of things, Ghost Town keeps it bright. And to be fair, some of the more blue or yellow colors end up taking on an ethereal look which I liked.

I’m not entirely sure what happened by the closing act, but I was invested for the most part and that’s the main thing. Available as a rental on Prime Video.

I give Ghost Town

2 ambiguous endings out of 5

Written, directed by, and starring Owen Conway.

The cast of Ghost Town is Eva Hamilton (Death Kiss), Becky Jo Harris (Spiked), and Amelia Haberman (The Covenant). The title was released on DVD and Digital on March 7 from Uncork’d Entertainment.