Ghost Town
A good western just manages hit all the right buttons- the grey moral areas, the landscapes and images, and a genuine sense of personality that is unique to the genre. I do get the sense, watching “Ghost Town,” that writer/director/star Owen Conway wants to do right by the genre, and I think there are plenty of ways in which he does. But while the setup of the film is interesting, and hooks us in, the execution of the payoff leaves much to be desired.
The film is set in 1877 Arizona, but Conway focuses most of our attention in the saloon where our protagonist, a drifter named Solomon (Conway) walks in. The old bar owner (Robert Sprayberry) gives him a chance to earn his keep as a bartender, but he’s wary of this stranger. The rules are simple- don’t steal, and that includes time with the bar’s resident hookers (played Becky Jo Harris and Eva Hamilton) that isn’t paid for. It seems like a regular occurrence, however, that death almost seems to follow Solomon, whether it’s a rowdy patron who can’t leave the women alone; a mysterious blonde (Brittany Mae) who seems to be in the saloon; or a man who seems to hide out in the outhouse. By the end, the line between life and death seems razor thin.
By setting the film in a single, primary location, Conway does not feel pressured to show us the town as a whole, and while that’s not a bad thing when the focus is on Solomon, and his seeming misadventures with the people in town, that doesn’t really work when the third act comes, and seems to throw everything we know about the world this town takes place in for a loop. The killing begins early in the film, and right away, from the manner Conway and cinematographer Dean E. Johnson shoot the aftermath, you get the feeling something is not quite right, either with the town, or with Solomon. When you title your film, “Ghost Town,” it’s understandable to expect some supernatural happenings, but the film is not completely clear as to whether what takes place is due to something that happened in the town, or with Solomon. (Or maybe both?) The film ends on a note that, narratively, reminds us of the end of “Night of the Living Dead,” but given that we are not sure what exactly we’ve seen transpire, it doesn’t quite have the same impact.
“Ghost Town” has some very pedestrian dialogue and performances, but the time and place is evoked well, and the characters keep us interested. The film does a good job of making this setting ominous even if it’s not entirely lived-in; everything looks a little too neat. It may not hit all the right buttons to be a good western, but “Ghost Town” hits enough of them to keep us thinking about what could have been at the end.
