Robert Conway’s eighth feature, Eminence Hill, takes place in the late 19th century in Arizona territory and couples with a slight faith-based underpinning for its own searing tale of cyclic vengeance and grisly retribution.
The film takes off as Royce Tullis (Clint James) and his band of outlaws set upon a homestead belonging to the last juror responsible for jailing his brother. Murdering both husband and wife, they kidnap their only daughter, Ruth (Anna Harr) before setting out back on their journey, while tenacious lawman, Foster (Owen Conway), hell-bent on capturing them, hires imprisoned, wayward calvary scout-turned-small time criminal and reluctant participant, Garrett (Charlie Motley), to help find them.
The two set out on their search as Garrett comes to learn a little more about Foster who himself is revealed to have a more notorious legend about his craft as a U.S. Marshall with a quick-draw hand. Meanwhile, meeting several characters along the way before eventually losing their steed, Tullis and his gang find themselves soon find themselves in peril when Ruth breaks free amidst a standoff, giving chase before stumbling unto a mysterious town whose patriarchy, led by Noah (Barry Corbin) takes them in.
Despite appearances, Ruth, and seperately Royce and his ill-gotten crew, come to learn their hosts are more than they appear to be, with Royce as the first to be beaten and tortured among his gang. In a town ruled by an archaic theocracy with Foster and Garrett en route, it’s only a matter of time before all guns are drawn and a bloody showdown ensues.
Conway’s latest potboiler indie western stands brutal and substantive enough to lend a feasibly entertaining thriller to its target niche. Actor James leads with a fine performance along side actress Dominique Swain who takes up as the gang’s alpha female, Gretchen, who often tries to look after Ruth with the incorrigible Cyrus (Louis Iccarino) eager to take her for himself. While apprehensive partnership Motley and Conway’s Garrett and Foster is one with a small air of humor with Foster consistently refusing to drink or sleep with a woman, its more foreboding tone sets in within a short series of moments. Several bodies are added to the film’s count while celebrated thesp Lance Henriksen gets in just enough screentime for a worthehile cameo to add to the intensity.
The film’s more technical and creative falters notwithstanding, one of its only colored characters – apart from two native Indians – is the one who steals his companion’s food and can’t talk. Despite its other best intentions as he’s the lynchpin for one of the film’s most pivotal moments, it’s a small bit role and doesn’t do huge favors for representation for a film that tries to deliver an intense and worthwhile thriller. If you can see past its flaws and shortcomings to enjoy a pratical western film with some compelling drama, intriguing characters and bloody action, Eminence Hill may just have a prayer.