While Western movies are mostly basic stories of good versus evil, others take a different stance on the concept, adding a more supernatural twist to the tales. Westerns are one of the oldest genres in Hollywood history, dating back to the silent era, alongside gangster and horror movies. For many years, it was always about Cowboys and the Wild West.
These Westerns often took the form of revenge films and tales of settlers making their way in the New World. At some point, Westerns began to merge with genres like horror and the supernatural, resulting in a darker and more violent style. Whether it involves demons, vampires, or the occult, supernatural Westerns deliver something different.
10
Dead Birds (2004)
Bank Robbers Face Demonic Forces
Dead Birds
- Release Date
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February 13, 2005
- Runtime
-
91 Minutes
- Director
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Alex Turner
Released in 2004, Dead Birds is a Western that blends horror and the supernatural into a solid entry into the genre. The setting is the American Civil War, where a group of Confederate deserters commit a bank robbery. However, when they stop and hide out at an abandoned plantation, they realize too late that there is a demonic presence there.
Setting the Western at an abandoned plantation was a unique choice for the movie, as it took the action away from the typical Wild West towns. However, it played well into the horror aspects, which included demons possessing the characters and leading them against each other. While a limited release, it received mostly positive reviews for its Lovecraftian themes.
9
Billy The Kid Versus Dracula (1965)
A Western Outlaw Battles The Vampire King
Billy the Kid Versus Dracula
- Release Date
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April 10, 1966
- Runtime
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74 minutes
- Director
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William Beaudine
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Chuck Courtney
William ‘Billy the Kid’ Bonney
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John Carradine
Count Dracula
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Melinda Casey
Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Bentley
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Virginia Christine
Eva Oster
As the title suggests, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula is a Western horror movie, but one that plays out a bit campier than others. It was released at the same time as Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter, and the two served as a double feature. Both movies were shot in a total of eight days by director William Beaudine, Sr.
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John Carradine played Dracula, and while he called it the worst movie he ever did, it has something for cult fans who love bad films. It tried to sell its story with two well-known icons, Billy the Kid and Dracula, which slightly drags the movie down; however, it remains a cult favorite and even received a Kino Lorber Blu-ray release.
8
The Pale Door (2020)
Train Robbers End Up Running Afoul Of Witches
the pale door
- Release Date
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August 21, 2020
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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Aaron B. Koontz
Released in 2020, The Pale Door is a Western horror with Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep) as executive producer. The movie follows two brothers whose parents were killed by armed thieves. When the brothers grow up, one of them offers to help with a train heist, but they don’t get gold; instead, they find a captured woman in a chest.
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They offer to return her home for a reward, but then learn her home is a coven of witches who want to use them to sustain their lives. The two brothers then end up in a battle for their lives against the witches. Critics were mixed on the film, but a positive review praised the practical effects and horror elements.
7
Blueberry (2004)
A Town Marshal Seeks To Save His Town From A Sorcerer
Blueberry
- Release Date
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February 11, 2004
- Runtime
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124 Minutes
- Director
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Jan Kounen
Blueberry is a comic book adaptation starring Vincent Cassel as Mike Blueberry, a town marshal who maintains peace between his town of white settlers and a Native American tribe. However, he finds peace threatened when an evil white sorcerer arrives in town.
However, the cast helps elevate it, featuring Michael Madsen, Juliette Lewis, Temuera Morrison, Djimon Hounsou, and even Ernest Borgnine.
The French acid Western film then sees the marshal use psychedelic drugs to release memories to help him save his town. Although it is based on a comic, it bears almost no resemblance to the original source material. However, the cast helps elevate it, featuring Michael Madsen, Juliette Lewis, Temuera Morrison, Djimon Hounsou, and even Ernest Borgnine.
6
The Burrowers (2008)
Underground Creatures Lure Victims In To Eat
The Burrowers
- Release Date
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September 21, 2008
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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J.T. Petty
-
-
David Busse
Young Bluecoat
-
-
Jocelin Donahue
Maryanne Stewart
The Burrowers is a Western horror film that follows a rescue party searching for a family that has gone missing. However, the rescue party has to find a way to save themselves when they realize the missing family was due to mysterious underground creatures that have since targeted the search party itself.
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The movie has terrifying scenes, and the fact that the monsters drag paralyzed victims underground to eat once decomposition has begun offers up some disturbing visuals. The film also details the distrust of the Native Americans and white men, as even with the evidence of the monsters, they still blame each other for the deaths and never stop the creatures.
5
El Topo (1970)
A Man Sets Off Looking For Spiritual Awakening
El Topo
- Release Date
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December 18, 1970
- Runtime
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124 Minutes
- Director
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Writers
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
An acid Western is the term used to describe Westerns that gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing themes from acclaimed Westerns and incorporating beliefs of the counterculture of the era, as well as potential drug influences. The most acclaimed of these is Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo. It stars Jodorowsky as the titular character on a journey of enlightenment.
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Using surrealist images and ideals borrowed from spaghetti Westerns, El Topo sets off across a desert with his naked son and encounters a tribe of deformed outcasts. With several cultists, Christian symbolism, including stigmata, and supernatural elements, it might be one of the strangest Western movies ever made, and it remains a cult classic.
4
Dead Man (1995)
An Accountant Goes On A Spiritual Quest After Killing A Man
Dead Man
- Release Date
-
May 26, 1995
- Runtime
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121 Minutes
- Director
-
Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch took on the acid Western genre in 1995 with Dead Man. Johnny Depp stars as an accountant named William Blake, who goes on the run after killing someone. He sets out on a journey with a Native American spirit guide named Nobody (Gary Farmer), who believes that Blake is the reincarnation of the English poet William Blake.
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As with most Jarmusch movies, there is more symbolism and high themes than action, but he does add horror into the story as Blake ends up having visions, and his quest leads him to violence, though some might be all in his head. The film remains a supernatural experience, as questions persist about whether Blake was alive at all.
3
Pale Rider (1985)
The Human Embodiment Of Death Rides Into Town
Pale Rider
- Release Date
-
June 28, 1985
- Runtime
-
115 minutes
Pale Rider was one of two Clint Eastwood Westerns that hinted at dark supernatural elements. While not as good as High Plains Drifter, this movie mostly confirmed that Eastwood was a supernatural character, whereas the previous film had only hinted at it. Eastwood plays the pale horse’s ghost rider who comes into town and delivers death.
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In Pale Rider, a mining baron is waging war against prospectors and their families, and after one young girl prays for a miracle, a stranger known only as The Preacher, riding a pale horse (Eastwood), rides into town.
He then kills all the bad guys and the corrupt law enforcement, including a corrupt marshal who knows that The Preacher is a man he had murdered in the past.
2
Near Dark (1987)
A Vampire Caravan Finds A New Possible Recruit
Near Dark
- Release Date
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October 2, 1987
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Director
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Kathryn Bigelow
Near Dark is a straight horror movie, but it takes place in the small Western towns of the Southwest. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, it’s one of the best vampire movies ever, even though the creatures are never once referred to by that word. The movie begins with a young vampire drifter named Mae, who encounters a potential recruit.
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The cast is amazing, with Lance Henricksen, Jenette Goldstein, Jenny Wright, Adrian Pasdar, and an incredible Bill Paxton as Severen, the most violent of the vampires in the film. While this takes place in modern times, it is as much a Western horror movie as anything and deserves to remain remembered for its contributions to the vampire genre.
1
High Plains Drifter (1973)
A Stranger Seeks Vengeance On Local Outlaws
One of the most iconic Western movies with supernatural elements is the Clint Eastwood film High Plains Drifter. The movie has a similar setup to his later movie, Pale Rider. However, this earlier movie leaves it up to the viewers to decide whether Eastwood’s mysterious stranger is a ghost or a demon, only hinting at the possibility.
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The movie starts with the Stranger riding into town and immediately assaulting a local woman, making him seem like the villain. However, as the film progresses, he sets his sights on local outlaws and has nightmares of a lawman being murdered. That’s where the supernatural elements come into play, as the film suggests he is the lawman reincarnated for revenge.
