They Call Her Death (2025)

They Call her Death is directed by Austin Snell & stars Sheri Rippel, Jeff Boyer, Devan R. Carcia, Dane Shobe, Shawn Nyberg & Jason Puff.  The film "They call her Death" is a throwback to the spaghetti Westerns that were produced in the 1960's in Europe.  Using probably less then a quarter of what original producers spent on such films Austin Snell & his gang pull off a very impressive and loving film to the genre.  The film is shot on 16mm film, with 1960's type camera, but the effects that we don't see are what makes this movie a gem.  Adam Jeffers is the VFX coordinator & producer of this film.  In the making of the film he is interviewed and we see with our own eyes what he needed to do.  The western town that he shot in was a tourists attraction where he had to take out signs, railings, and people wondering into frame.  Talk about a Herculean task somehow Mr. Jeffers did it flawlessly job and to me I saw no mistakes though I probably would guess that for some of his shots Mr. Jeffers would tell you he's earned how to do it better now.  Even miniatures were used in this production and it keeps the film stylized and effective.  Mr. Snell & Mr. Jeffers work well and it shows in the final product.

Having worked in 16mm I had to support it and buy a blue ray from Vinegar Syndrome who is distributing it.  The film is also available through Tubi if you don't want the spend your hard earned cash since times are tough these days, and after all it's free, but contains commercials.  Maybe after seeing it you'd like a physical copy.  Nice that you get to see the product for free, and if you're a fan you can then order it from Vinegar Syndrome, but be warned it's a limited run and as of now they have 1004 in stock.

Here's the story line "On the wild frontier of the American prairie, Molly Pray is on a bloody crusade against the criminal forces that have wronged her.  She shows no mercy, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake on a mission that ultimately strikes at the heart of the American identity and the nation of manifest destiny..."

That's as simple as it is.  The effects are well done, and it's a bloody mess at times.  With a very limited budget & a schedule of 2 years Snell produces a film the is unique and a nod to Spaghetti westerns of the past all this during the pandemic too.

I much admired the cinematography & even the acting.  The production feels like it was a team effort.  Sheri Rippel does a fantastic job as Molly Pray.  In fact all the performances are all convincing and well worth a look.  The extras of the blue ray sells it for me.  Being a lover of film and one who has done his own 16mm film I have to give props to the whole cast & crew of the film.  I'm looking forward to listening to the audio commentary of the disc by the director & his producer Adam Jeffers.  There's the making of the film as well as storyboards of two scenes from the film.  I'd like to thank Vinegar Syndrome for putting this out and for the production company Yellow Veil pictures for distributing the film.  I will most certainly take a look at your other films.

In the end if you like your Spaghetti westerns and your film shot on film rather then digital check the "They Call her Death" out you won't regret it.