It may not be immediately obvious but there is a strong connection between two venerable film genres; westerns and science fiction. If you need to be convinced about this fact just take a look at the credit listings for the popular stars and crew of the fifties Sci-Fi flicks. Almost every one of them also gained popularity in westerns. Gene Rodenberry imagined his most famous creation, ‘Star Trek’ as ‘Wagon Train in space’. The themes used in westerns are so fundamental that they translate easily to science fiction. One case in point is the classic ‘Outland’ which was a futuristic spin on the notable western ‘High Noon’. More recently the late, lamented Fox series ‘Flyfire’ seamlessly mixed the two genres with old west themes and settings placed in outer space. There were horses and space ships in the same scenes and the fans loved it. One of the latest to realize this natural affinity is ‘Six Reasons Why’ from the Campagna brothers. From the outset it has to be said that this is an odd film to watch. It takes a little bit of time to get into the construction of this strange and dangerous universe. The Camagna brothers are admittedly taking a chance with this movie. Since it straddles two popular genres it runs the risk of putting off die hard fans of both types of movies. It is also a great way to unite these distinct groups of fans. This film is intriguing, multilayered and a very good movie to watch and enjoy.

This is the only the second film for the Campagna brother, Jeff and Matthew. Their previous work was a documentary, ‘Roots of a Man’, about a man in Northern Ireland. It received well deserved critical acclaim. Although they are not big names, yet, in cinema they certainly will be soon. Both are extremely talented in a myriad of fields. Matthew is of course a screenwriter and director as well as actor, producer and editor. In this film he also took on visual effects, costume design and animation. His brother Jeff had his hand in all of the above with the addition of stunts and cinematography. Before turning to films Jeff was a chef in a restaurant so he just might have provided the craft services for this movie. The point here is these two men had an idea for a film and put everything on the line to make sure it would get made even if they had to do a good deal of the work themselves. Certainly other talented people worked in most of these areas along side the brothers but credit is to be afforded them for seeing their idea to fruition.

As writers the brothers take a hackneyed set of circumstances and plot lines and breathe new life into them. You have all seen the basic story before. A man is banished to the badlands, a desert set between pockets of civilization. The mostly male characters are for the most part unnamed; referred to only by a general description like ‘Nomad’ or ‘Preacher’. They live by the six shooters hanging from their hips. The main difference here is the setting is slightly in the future where we have gone full circle back to the more primitive and violent western past. With gasoline prices hitting over $4 at the time of this writing it is not unimaginable that resources will disappear and we will be forced to turn the clock back a century or so. A horse is not dependent on oil and a railroad can run on wood. With ‘Firefly’ th3e premise was that in settling other planets the technology of the mid to late 1800s would be the best choice. Here, a darker side of the coin is shown as this is the era that we could slip back into. The script here is just as stripped down to the bare essentials as the technology it shows. The men are brutal in their world view, known the only right is the ability to draw your gun and shoot first. It also demonstrates that we should know our history well since there is a very good chance that it will be repeated.

As directors the two brothers work incredibly well together. Unfortunately the screener version of the DVD provided did not contain their commentary track; it will be on the final release. I would have greatly enjoyed how they divided the various aspects of directing. Judging by the list of their credits I would have to imagine that Jeff was more of the physical oriented while Matthew was more in charge of the design and look. This is just a guess but no matter how they divided the workload for the final product it worked very well. This is not the kind of western that many of us grew up with. The violence is brutal and realistic. When a person is shot he doesn’t just grab his chest and fall; you see the spray of the blood as the man twists in lethal pain. The cinematography is amazing in this film. The choices made for lens, lighting and angles is nearly inspired. The color palette is often pushed to highlight the emotional impact of the scene. It can go from washed out and faded to vivid, brilliant use of colors. The yellows of the desert sands are contrasted with the deep blue of the sky. This is a visually stunning movie that even without the gripping story would be a great thing to view. This film is representative of one of the great things about independent film making. A couple of men with a dream can manage to raise a modest budget, get a few weeks to shoot and come up with a movie that exceeds many of the high profile studio backed films.

Like so many of the spaghetti westerns from Italy this film does not concern itself with trivia like character names. The man known only as ‘The Nomad’ (Dan Wooster) has been banished from one of the localized outposts of civilization known as boomtowns; his was in the West. For the last dozen years he has roamed the badlands with one purpose; killing anyone heading for the town of Utopia. Coming from the East is a young man, ‘The Entrepreneur’ (Christopher Harrison). He is the son of the richest man it the region; his father built the railroads that who the meager remains of civilization together. His reason for being there is two fold. His father was recently murdered and the young man ahs vowed to kill that man responsible. He also wants to extend the rails into the badlands. Along with ‘The Entrepreneur’ is the family servant (Mads Koudal) who has a hidden agenda of his own. Last there is the man called ‘The Criminal’ (Jeff Campagna). He has killed the father of the ‘Entrepreneur’ and stole the horse of the ‘Nomad’. Back in the old west a horse was so vital to survival that the theft of the animal was tantamount to murder. Alliances are formed and broken as fate and circumstances draw the four men together.

This is a special film and one deserving of your time and addition to any serious collection. Most people may not be familiar with the Brothers Campagna. After people see this film they will certainly receive the following they so richly deserve. This is the reason why Indy films are so exciting. While so many new writers and directors take the easy way out with a hackney genre like the zombie flick these men have gone off on their own and blazed a new trail that others will follow. The DVD comes from Think Films in association with Image Entertainment. Once again they have found the hidden gem in the Indy world and offer it for enjoyment at home. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of it.