The Pale Door isn’t your ordinary western for sure with… interesting horror elements thrown in. While it’s not all that good, I guess I can commend the filmmakers for trying something a bit new for the genre even if some of it didn’t quite work.
The Pale Door
(2020)
Genre(s): Western, Horror
RLJ Entertainment | NR – 96 min. – $28.97 | October 6, 2020
Date Published: 10/12/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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RLJ Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: The Dalton gang find shelter in a seemingly uninhabited ghost town after a train robbery goes south. Seeking help for their wounded leader, they are surprised to stumble upon a welcoming brothel in the town’s square. But the beautiful women who greet them are actually a coven of witches with very sinister plans for the unsuspecting outlaws – and the battle between good and evil is just beginning. Quick Hit Review: Outside of some classics, like Unforgiven, The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I’m not much of fan of westerns, even western-horror like this one was. So being up front with that, The Pale Door might feature some passable acting, much everything else falters. The story and script needed some re-writes, particularly the dialogue, the costume design and wardrobe in general was far too noticeably clean but that’s a minor quibble as the film goes into Satanism and all around horror along the lines of From Dusk Till Dawn without the sharp dialogue. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2½/5 |
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This release comes with a somewhat textured, title-embossed, slip cover. Included is a Filmmakers Commentary with Co-Writer/Producer/Director Aaron Koontz and Co-Writer/Producer Cameron Burns and two featurettes: The Making of The Pale Door (14:14) and Editing The Pale Door (3:01). |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| RLJ Entertainment releases The Pale Door which is presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Although most of the movie takes place at night, with some scenes in bright daylight, the detail here is sharp and well defined; the natural film grain shines through. Colors are more tamped down outside of the daylight scenes while black levels are stark without appearing crushed. |
AUDIO – 4¼/5 |
| The movie comes with a standard but effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue comes across well enough however you can tell the on-set audio quality wasn’t the best as some of it sounds a bit flat. Where this lossless track excels is with the western music and score making good use of every channel. |
OVERALL – 2½/5 |
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Overall, The Pale Door isn’t your ordinary western for sure with… interesting horror elements thrown in. While it’s not all that good, I guess I can commend the filmmakers for trying something a bit new for the genre even if some of it didn’t quite work. |