Kill or Be Killed: DVD Review
Arriving on DVD and VOD this week is the horror-western, “Kill or Be Killed”, written/directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. I am all for a good horror-western, like last year’s “Bone Tomahawk”. It is a very rare sub-genre and good ones are even harder to come upon. Unfortunately, “Kill or Be Killed” is not nearly as good at “Bone Tomahawk”, which was also released by RLJ Entertainment.
Set in 1900, Claude ‘Sweet Tooth’ Barbee (Justin Meeks) and his gang of outlaws are on a 500 mile ride through Texas to recover a hidden fortune. Their trek is all the more dangerous as they have a ” dead or alive” cash bounty on their heads. However, bounty hunters, and the law aren’t the only ones on the hunt. There is also something very mysterious picking off the gang, one-by-one.
Horror fans will see some familiar faces, like Michael Berryman (“The Hills Have Eyes”) and Edwin Neal (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”). The frontier setting also feels quite authentic. However, it is the story and pacing that are the real problems here. If you have yet to see “Bone Tomahawk”, I urge you to seek it out and give it a look, and stay clear of “Kill or Be Killed”.
By: Marc Ferman