Death Alley

Death Alley is being billed as the true story of the Dalton Gang and what happened on October 5th, 1892 as they were gunned down after robbing two banks in broad daylight.  Pretty bold, right?  Now, I can’t tell you how true or not the movie is to the historical events, but Death Alley is one helluva return to form when it comes to the western genre.

"mines the material with a story that is both gripping, emotional, and action-packed"


Will this film usher in a new wave of westerns?  Probably not, but when it comes to covering one of the most notorious outlaw gangs of the 19th century, Death Alley, which opens in 1931 before settling into his main story, handles itself confidently thanks to Writer/Director Nicholas Barton’s efforts to keep the film both authentic and spirited. 

Filmed in Kansas and Oklahoma, Death Alley is both violent and steadfast in its consequential telling of what happens in the fateful last days of the infamous Dalton Gang’s desire to be more notorious than Jesse James and The Younger Gang, their distant cousins.  It takes its time with the historical material which is to be celebrated as character development takes center stage before it unloads on the action as a well-shot, well-executed, well-edited double bank robbery absolutely blows  viewers away.

Starring Ryan T. Johnson, Mark Anderson, Sean Gestl, Shaelynn French, Hannah Smith, Delno Ebie, Gregor Hunt, Dan Schuster, Donald Wineke, Mary Lou-Phipps Winfrey, Joe Parrish, Justin France, and Kaye Brownlee France, Death Alley takes its Coffeyville fate seriously and mines the material with a story that is both gripping, emotional, and action-packed as their violent deaths are every bit the blaze of glory you might expect thanks to the almost poetic camerawork of cinematography Nathyan Smith and editor Bryce Dixon.Death Alley

These characters and their desires - combined with the authentic and gritty landscape - feel very real throughout.  The world-building throughout Death Alley is to be complimented as never once, no matter how violent the story becomes, do we feel that its B-grade budget cheapens the experience of watching these characters come to life.  They also don’t come across as mythological which is partly why this movie works as well as it does.  This is a story not of villains, but of folk heroes and they come across as sympathetic as their fates and desires align to shock the plains of the wild west by robbing two banks in broad daylight, at the same time, in the same town. 

And stopping them all comes down to the brave citizens of Coffeyville, Kansas.  Are you brave enough to make the stand against them?  Find out which side you'd be on in Death Alley.  The movie will begin streaming on Digital August 3, 2021 and will be available on DVD on October 5, 2021 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

As the Eagles once sang on their Desperado album, "The stage is set and the sun's sinkin' low . . "

4/5 stars

Film Details

Death Alley

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
94 mins
Director
: Nicholas Barton
Writer:
Nicholas Barton
Cast:
Delno Ebie; Joshua R. Outzen; Justin France
Genre
: Western | Crime
Tagline:
Some towns fight back.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Careful Bunny, he's a stone cold killer."
Distributor:
Uncork'd Entertainment
Official Site: https://deathalleyfilm.com/
Release Date:
August 3, 2021- On Demand
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:

Synopsis: One of the most notorious outlaw gangs of the 19th century, the Dalton Gang terrorized Kansas and the Oklahoma territories. They set out to shock the wild west by robbing two banks in broad daylight, at the same time, in the same town. Based on historical events, this Western shows that action-packed day of October 5th, 1892 and the stand made by the brave citizens of Coffeyville, Kansas.

Art

Death Alley