The Old West: Ned Crowley's Killing Faith (2025)

I hadn’t heard great things about Ned Crowley’s Killing Faith (2025) before I delved in. Many had complained about its slow pace and lack of action. I suppose this just proves once again that the world is full of fucking idiots, as Killing Faith is a fantastic Western, one that combines genre’s to create something unique whilst still featuring many of the staples of the Western genre.  

Crowley’s only directorial credit before this was black comedy Middle Man (2016), a very different beast to Killing Faith. The main similarity between the two is the sure hand Crowley brings to proceedings, although the humour embedded in Middle Man doesn’t factor into Killing Faith’s plotting, with the sense of dread building as the film progresses. The inclusion of the supernatural is also smartly integrated, with Crowley never making it abundantly clear whether it is merely superstition or if there is really some form of demonic intervention. 

For the majority of the film, Crowley doesn’t give any easy answers on the supernatural aspects of the film. Instead he uses it as a catalyst to shine a light on other important themes during the film. Themes of Faith and belief are obvious by the film's title, but the setting and time period also enables Crowley and fellow screenwriter David Henri Martin to say a lot about bigotry and prejudice, with our main cast of characters being made up of outcasts of society, either because of their race or where they stand in society. 

Rather than going the John Ford route, Crowley opts for something more bleaker. This isn’t the great old west, rather it is a land filled with disease, hate and violence. A land where there are no clear cut heroes, with everyone existing in a morally grey zone, each of them capable of exacting violence. This even goes way down to our young girl that is being transported. 

Crowley wastes no time in introducing us to this bleak land, with the opening shot initially showing the beauty of the landscape before pulling back to reveal a bloodied cowboy being held in a cage. He is swiftly dispatched thereafter. The Western setting, and the characters that inhabit it is beautifully captured by director of photography Justin Hamilton. There is the odd shot that shows off 

Leading the cast is a perfectly dishevelled Guy Pearce, with this being one of the best performances he has given in some time. Not to say that Pearce is ever bad, with his recent Oscar nomination for the Brutalist (2025) being proof of that, but his work here is a particular stand out.  

His drunken doctor Bender is the furthest you could think of a hero, with the desperation of the character being etched across Pearce’s face. Pearce excels at playing such a morally complex individual. Initially, he only takes on the mission of accompanying DeWanda Wise’s Sarah and her daughter because like them, he is also being forced to leave town. Because of his own past tragedies, Bender is coldly detached from the world, and with him only taking on the job for his own selfish reasons, it is never abundantly clear whether he will do the right thing when the time comes. 

Pearce is no stranger to the Western genre, having appeared in the Australian set The Proposition (2005) and the extremely bleak Brimstone (2016). That’s not to exclude the wonderfully macabre Ravenous (1999), which you could technically call a Western due to the time period it takes place in. Similarly to Killing Faith, it could also be classified as a genre hybrid, with it encroaching into horror territory, becoming a blackly comic tale about cannibalism as much as it is a Western. 

The dark tone of Killing Faith could be compared to Clint Eastwood’s epic Unforgiven (1992), mixed with Jim Jarmusch’s wonderfully surreal Dead Man (1995). Similar to Dead Man, the storytelling in Killing faith could be classed as episodic, with our leads meeting an assortment of weird and wonderful characters on their journey, with it never being clear until it's too late whether they are friend or foe.  

The likes of Joanna Cassidy and Raoul Trujillo make the biggest impressions out of these characters, with the both of them appearing to be quite amenable until their true nature is revealed. Trujillo is especially good as “William Shakespeare”, a Native American sold into servitude years before, with him getting some of the film's best dialogue. Although each of them has brief screen time, they certainly make the most of it, further raising Killing Faith above any current Western’s. 

Of the main cast, other than Pearce, DeWanda Wise gives a strong performance as defiant mother Sarah, willing to go through hell for her daughter. It would have been easy to paint her as heroic, but even she is capable of delving into the darkness, with her starting to realise that what people say about her daughter may be true. 

Jack Alcott’s clearly autistic Edward may come off as initially annoying, but he quickly wins you over, with him being the closest this film has to a truly good person. Dexter fans will no doubt recognise Alcott from his portrayal of Dexter’s grown up son Harrison in Dexter: New Blood (2021) and most recently its sequel, Dexter: Resurrection (2025). Don’t worry though, his character isn’t the insufferable wee prick he plays in them shows. 

Bill Pullman appears somewhat late in the day, showing up as the mysterious faith healer that is supposedly going to fix all of the girl’s issues. Rather than playing Preacher Ross as a simple villain, Pullman adds a fair bit of humanity into his role. Although you could perceive his intentions as evil, his beliefs behind them aren’t without thought, with his character believing what he is doing to be right. 

It would appear that the majority of Westerns these days either go the DTV route or are made for television. While Killing Faith was also given mostly a DTV release, it is an extremely cinematic journey and one of the most surprisingly enjoyable Westerns I have seen in some time. It really deserves to reach a wider audience, but unfortunately it seems to have gone by mostly unnoticed. 

A definite must see. 

Rating: 4.5/5