The Pale Door: Blu-Ray Review

It’s been a big year for writer/director/producer Aaron B. Koontz. His horror-comedy anthology Scare Package was a hit with genre fans (myself included) now he has his horror-western The Pale Door arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. Arguably one of the best horror-westerns ever produced is 2015’s Bone Tomahawk. It makes sense that RLJE would gamble once again on the rare sub-genre.

After a train robbery goes south, the Dalton gang find themselves with a young woman named Pearl that was in the chest they stole, rather than the gold they expected. Claiming that there would be a handsome reward if she was returned home safely, the gang brings her to the town, which of course has a brothel filled with women who seem to be the only residents there. It doesn’t take long for the women to transform into their true selves, in a scene that reminded me a bit of From Dusk Till Dawn, but with a much smaller budget. Now the gang must fight to survive the attack of the witches.

Koontz clearly loves the characters and his western setting. It is evident in almost every frame. He is working on a very-limited budget, but he does his best to try and pull everything off. Not everything works. Pacing is an issue but then again, even the best horror-westerns are more of a slow burn. I give Koontz and his co-writers Cameron Burns and Keith Lansdale credit for delivering a mildly successful western and locking in a solid cast. Zachary Knighton, Pat Healy and Melora Walkers are all good here. The Pale Door does lack in scares, but we are treated to some solid moments of gore. This isn’t a great film, but it is definitely a solid effort from a talented team.

Bonus Features:

• The Making of THE PALE DOOR
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Editing THE PALE DOOR

By: Marc Ferman