Billie the Kid – review

Director: Paul Tomborello

Release Date: 2022

Contains spoilers

Billy the Kid once met Dracula, not a great film but it has a certain something that offers an enjoyment factor. This is not Billy but Billie (Olivia Hsu), our central character female, and she doesn’t take on Dracula (though he is kinda in it)... but she does find herself embroiled in the machinations of vampires in this low budget Western.

staked from the rear

The film starts with a wagon, busted, and bodies. One man runs and, aided by disorientating camera angles he is attacked for a book, which he threatens to burn. He is killed by a branch through the back (I assume he was a vampire, hence having the book) and the volume is collected by one of the attackers. The vampires are out in daylight, though they aren't daywalkers and we later discover this is due to a potion they have.

Olivia Hsu as Billie

We meet Billie and her companion Kansas (Roy Fox) on horseback. They dismount and he goes looking for water. Two riders come along and seem a little interested in Billie who has her gun ready and decides to give a warning shot into one of their shoulders. That seems to make them decide to skedaddle. Kansas returns and suggests they go into a nearby town for supplies, she isn’t happy with this as towns have wanted posters and, sure enough, they are recognised, caught and are soon in Sheriff Jack Barton’s (Frank Prell) jail.

Veronica Conran as Aleera

Nightfall, and the vampires are in a homestead surrounded by the corpses of the owners. There are two female vampires, Cassidy (Leslie Wall) and Aleera (Veronica Conran), and there is clearly no love lost between them. The male leader is in shadow and we don’t see his face. The book contains a map to a mine, where there is a treasure but it is cursed and so they cannot follow it. A mortal has to lead the way willingly. Some cowboys come along, checking in on the homestead and meet an unfortunate end for their trouble.

Zion Monroe as James

A town delegation visits the sheriff as there has been murder at the farmstead, they are led by James Underhill (Zion Monroe). The town blames Billie, despite the fact she was in jail. Barton undertakes to try and track down the culprits and suggests that Billie (as a known great tracker) helps. In return she will be offered leniency. Kansas declines to go, so it is Billie, Barton, James and a couple of deputies. What becomes readily apparent is that James is the vampire leader and he has Cassidy close at hand tracking the trackers – this is his plan to get to the mine. Aleera has gone her own way; posing as Sadie, a woman fleeing a brutish husband, she gets in with a prospector. This is with the view of manipulating him into leading her to the mine. Inevitably Barton and Billie develop an attraction.

Dracul in the mine

The treasure the vampires are looking for is not a what but a who – Dracul, an Orlok looking vampire who is said to be in a position to grant additional powers to a vampire, in the form of an ‘Elder’s Blessing’, but only one vampire can receive it. Vampires injured in the daytime, whilst using the sunlight potion, do not heal until night time. Silver will kill a vampire. We do get some background to Billie (surrounding her Pa being gunned down).

Frank Prell as Barton

This wasn’t that bad. Ok its not the greatest movie of all time but I was struck by how the dialogue sounded like authentic Western dialogue (though I am far from an expert). Barton and Billie were both genuinely likeable characters and Billie did show the occasional vulnerability but mainly was a spunky lass who knew her own mind, which was refreshing. Not a bad effort and though its lack of budget was obvious and there was nothing extraordinary about the direction or photography it all worked reasonably well. 4 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.