Hell to Pay (2005) User Reviews

Familiar Faces/Familiar Story

[cacorbett · 5/10 · 26 January 2015]

This Low Budget Western features some familiar Western TV Actors , supporting a lesser known main cast. Its the familiar tale of brother against brother, family conflict and attempts at redemption. In a town ran by an unscrupulous saloon owner, the brothers face off against competing elements ...and each other ! Virginian Star James Drury has a featured role as the straight arrow Town Sheriff, saddled with a thankless job and questionable town loyalty. Bo Svenson is the one-eyed villain and there are cameo appearances by stars of Laredo, Lawman and Gunsmoke. Even Lee Majors of Big Valley fame appears as a US Marshal! Some of the acting is amateurish, but the story is interesting and it was very nice to see the various TV Western legends on the screen again in this more recent western outing. Recommended for fans of classic Television westerns......

Family ties are the strongest of all

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 19 October 2014]

When I was in my early 20s The Over The Hill Gang came out and the oldtimers were such folks as Pat O'Brien, Chill Wills, Walter Brennan, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine and a bunch more old character actors who gave us so much pleasure on the big screen. It came out in 1969. In 2005 Hell To Pay came out and while the leads were young, the players in various supporting roles were a bunch of players I knew from back in the day from current TV westerns. They're the best part of this film.

Kevin Kazakoff and William Gregory Lee star here as a pair of brothers who split the family with their differing views on the Civil War. Kazakoff became a war hero in the Union Army while Lee just sat out the war and sharpened his poker hand and his connections with various loose women.

Kazakoff has settled on a new claim and wants to be a farmer. Lee hasn't seen any need to reform, but as we know in these westerns family ties in the end are the strongest of all.

However the real treat is to see a whole slew of people who starred in TV westerns back in the day back for a last hurrah. Several men and one woman Stella Stevens who it is certainly adding something to anything she appears in.

Best in the film of the oldtimers is James Drury as the town sheriff and Peter Brown as the town banker.

Not the greatest of westerns, but nostalgia fans like me will enjoy it.

Disappointment

[imperialdebubba-1 · 3/10 · 13 November 2005]

Hell to Pay was a disappointment. It did not have anywhere near the substance of a B Western movie, and should in no way be compared to a fantastic movie like Silverado. The dialog was dull, the plot was torpid, the soundtrack was overbearingly unnecessary, and the acting was awful. Even the professionals could've taken some lessons from the Sunset Carson School of Acting. The only positive thing about this movie is that it showcased some of the top Cowboy shooters in the nation, but you can see them in a better light in any SASS video. The packaging of this feature makes it very enticing, and the preview is decent, but it's all over after that.

A Saddle-Sore Sagebrusher!!!

[zardoz-13 · 1/10 · 3 July 2014]

Amateur theatrics undermine "Border Shoot-Out" writer & director Chris McIntyre's wide-open-spaces epic "Hell to Pay," about enmities left over from the American Civil War. The only thing that distinguishes this pedestrian western that is the roll call of guest stars who starred in either western movies or television series. James Drury, Peter Brown, William Smith, Tim Thomerson, Buck Taylor, Lee Majors, Andrew Prine, and Denny Miller flesh out the cast. Ostensibly, they deliver the best performances in largely supporting roles. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast should never have gotten in front of a camera. Similarly, McIntyre could benefit from a course in film direction. The abysmal Sable Ranch sets look cobbled together. While McIntyre's skills are lacking as a director, he has written a tolerable horse opera with some good dialogue. This brother versus brother saga has a lot to do with the American Civil War. The villains still bear a deep-seated grudge toward the outcome of the war and take advantage of an African-American woman in one scene. Ultimately, everything boils down to a flamboyant gambler Chance (William Gregory Lee of "Mexican Sunrise") and a former Union Army officer Kirby (Kevin Kazakoff of "Universal Soldiers") who are related to each other. They are so alike that they act like one person. They are reunited with each other when the stagecoach that Chance is riding in pulls up on the trail at the sight of a Union Army officer. Whether he knew it or not, McIntyre seems to be channeling John Wayne's entrance in John Ford's immortal classic "Stagecoach" with this scene. The coachman, Johnny Behan (Peter Brown of "Laredo") refuses to let Kirby to hitch a ride until his Kirby's brother Chance lets him board the conveyance. All Kirby wants to do is settle down and bust sod, while his flippant brother Chance prefers to keep on gambling. You would think that McIntyre would have had Kirby and Chance team up again during the finale, but these two don't. Not only do the no-account the villains try to kill the town marshal (James Drury), but they also give Kirby a hard time. After appearing briefly in a ride-through-a scene, Sheriff Boone (Lee Majors of "Will Penny") rides back and saves the day. He has a shoot-out in the saloon with the chief bad guy, one-eyed saloon owner Dell Shannon (Bo Svenson of "Inglorious Bastards"), and kills him. The end credits thank Kevin Costner and Robert Vaughn for their contribution. Although it was shot in Hi-Definition Cinema on a Sony Cine Alta 900, "Hell to Pay" looks pathetic. Out of all the guest stars, James Drury fares the best. Shoot this western and put it out of our misery!

Is this a joke?

[xurreria · 1/10 · 22 March 2007]

I am not sure who is having more fun, the people that wrote the reviews or the director of the movie. I could not go any longer reading this comments or watching this movie, I had to say something.

I can see a low budget western film that is done with passion and interest on the detail, but using a garage with art deco lettering, pastel colors, actors that seem to be falling sleep because the script is so boring and the boom getting on the way of the camera every two scenes, that is definitely not my definition of "one of the best western movies produced in the new Millennium".

Please if any of you guys had friends in the movie just say it!

Hell to Pay - More like Hell to Watch

[Franco-72 · 1/10 · 18 March 2007]

I cannot see how anyone can say that this was a real good entertaining movie. With a few well known actors I found it hard to believe that this was only made in 2005. It's crap! The acting is tantamount to amateur dramatics, poor amateur dramatics. Unless you want to laugh loudly at an amazing 100 minutes of pure corn, don't bother to download it or rent it, worst that I have seen in years. It's from the bygone days of acting, where cowboys are shooting 8 bullets from the six-shooters. The more well known the actor, the worse they were, Drury was just sad. I was extremely disappointed with Lee Majors, has he actually stooped to this sort of garbage? It was bad enough when he played the six million dollar man.

Amateur quality

[aznazblk · 1/10 · 19 March 2006]

I love a good Western movie, but this was more like watching a play on stage or an act at the local street carnival show. I could only stand 38 minutes of it in hopes that it would improve, but it only got worse and I had to end it. Each actor(s) stated the lines as if reading directly from the script or cue cards. There was too much predictability to the lines and actions not as if a natural occurrence or conversation. The wig on Rachel Kimsey was obvious. The actresses playing Native American sisters, could have played non-native parts and should have. Wardrobe for the Native Americans could have been better and a little more authentic looking. If I decide to watch it with any friends in the future, I will do so, not with the expectations of watching a good Western, but with the expectations of watching an amateur comedy film production.

Awful and amateurish direction

[martinleib · 1/10 · 27 March 2007]

The seasoned actors in this do know how to act and have proved that before but the Director, who also wrote and produced this travesty, is incompetent on so many levels. O.K. it's low budget but I know films students with lower budgets and lesser known actors who can do much, much better. For example, since there were people involved who should know better some of the gun rigs were totally out of place and never existed in those days. The stunt work was clumsy - the story stale and hokey. If some one gives you a copy of this use it for a coaster. By the way, I love westerns and have known many stunt men and even went to high school with one of the actors so I was looking for it to be good.

A decent performance (if it was a High School play)

[bachdt · 2/10 · 29 November 2005]

Not sure if this is just a lousy movie or if it was intended to be a mockery of a "B" Western. Story line was so-so but the filming, editing and acting were just plain bad. Plus the music in the background was irritating to no end, too loud and just non-stop. Many times you could not make out the dialog over the background music. I'm in SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) and do some Old West shooting with them, and a lot of the actors are members of this group, so that's why I bought it. If you have no interest in this group of people, or that sport, you certainly most likely wouldn't even have this little bit of interest to help out with the film. The acting of even the veteran actors (particularly Stella Stevens) left a lot to be desired also.

Poor

[FightingWesterner · 1/10 · 5 January 2010]

There's no use trying to describe in detail the convoluted, overly melodramatic plot involving Civil War bitterness, a crooked town boss, and other complications. It's all bad.

Stella Stevens, Andrew Prine, Bo Svenson, William Smith, Tim Thomerson and Lee Majors are all good actors that may not be big stars (or big stars anymore) but always made fun movies.

Here, they're all wasted on a picture that looks like it was shot in a wild west tourist trap, with costumes borrowed from the local high school theater department. In fact, most of the acting appears to be on the high school level too, which might not be so bad if it weren't so pretentious.

The name of Ed Wood is invoked way too lightly these days. I think in this case the comparison is warranted. However, I suspect that old Ed would have made a more entertaining western than this.

Fun Entertainment

[imdb-11740 · 10/10 · 5 January 2006]

This is a cute little movie that provides pretty much what it promises - some good entertainment. After all, when a movie proclaims it features top SASS shooters, you have to figure that it is not a likely candidate for the "Best Picture" Oscar. Those guys are shooters, not actors. Your next clue is that the movie doesn't star Nicholas Cage or Jennifer Aniston, i.e. you shouldn't expect to see the current hottest names. It was meant to be just plain old entertainment and in that regard it is every bit as good as a lot of the old "oaters" I have seen through the years.

SO what do you get with "Hell To Pay"? You get 100 minutes of good old entertainment. You get a chance to see some stars from past years, who act pretty much like what they did in their prime but a little older. You get to see some good SASS shooters in major roles and a few SASS hams in the background. It was a lot of fun for me seeing people that I have shot with, visited in their homes and who are my good friends get to do something that a lot of people only ever dream about - they're in a real, live honest to gosh movie. They're doing something a lot of wannabe actors and wannabe shooters will never get the chance to do and I think that alone makes it worth the watch.

Admittedly, not everyone is a SASS member and so I saw lots of fun and humor that others may miss, but it is still good, old-fashioned entertainment, and frankly, there are a LOT of movies in the theatre right now that I wouldn't give a nickel to see, so save the money to go see "Brokeback Mountain" get "Hell to Pay" and watch some real cowboys have some fun.

Good, clean fun

[rancidroy · 6/10 · 13 January 2006]

I considered the combination of professional actors and experienced real life wild-west shooters a bit of refreshment.

Admittedly a portion of the actors were "dated" but then the appeal of this movie is for the same group of folks. No, it ain't John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, or Tom Selleck but its an entertaining, straight forward movie intended to have no hidden messages or social commentaries. Which is what truly good movies are.....entertainment. I think this movie has the potential to become a sort of campy, cult classic.

True, a couple of the "Bad Guys" could have been better looking but you gotta go with what you can get!

"Blazing Saddles" without the humor

[alamax · 1/10 · 1 May 2007]

I simply cannot believe the folks that made and performed in this movie really took it seriously. The skits on SNL look more real. Everything was laughably fake. The goofy gunfights, the ridiculous fist fights, the dialogue, the sappy background music, and even Bo's blind eye. Had it been billed as a comedy, it still would have made more sense but still would be bad. I can see this as "entertainment" only if you get a room full of stoned college kids watching it like it were Rocky Horror Picture Show. Imagine some of the stuff you saw on Blazing Saddles, like Mongo knocking the horse down or the old lady gettinf stomach-punched. Now imagine the producer wants you to take those scenes seriously and you get the gists of this disaster.

as bad as it gets

[witz-2 · 1/10 · 30 April 2007]

This has got to be the worst case of over acting since the silent era. Not just one or two actors but virtually the entire cast. Lee Majors and Bo Svenson were fine but the rest of them look like their first time acting.

So the budget was not tremendous. Much of the costumes and set were believable but there were many things that jump out at the viewer to let us know that they couldn't double check or get all of the props to match the period.

I can't think of one aspect of the film that I liked or didn't shake my head. Your time will be better spent burning lint collected from your bellybutton.

Awful, plainly awful.

[needles-6 · 2/10 · 28 December 2016]

This is a sorry collection of tired clichés, stereotypes, and just plainly awful script, direction, set design, and acting. I honestly could not stop watching, hoping that someone would do something professionally; I was completely disappointed, to say the least. I have seen better high school productions; the onus of this TV abomination rests on the shoulders of the writer/director. Some of the former stars have aged so much, it was difficult to identify them, especially James Drury. William Smith, Lee Majors and Stella Stevens were easily spotted, but Bo Svenson, Peter Brown, and the rest passed by almost unnoticed. Movies like this are only green-lighted because of the stars' presence in the cast; the rest of the actors in 'Hell to Pay' were just plain amateurish...but the blame for that still rests with the director.

Not even a B-Grade Western

[Fortcourage-712-911498 · 1/10 · 10 October 2021]

The one unique thing about this movie is the presence of a lot of well-know Cowboy Action Shooters from the Single Action Shooting Society (at least well-know among us cowboy shooters). About all I can say for their participation is.... As actors, they are great shooters. The rest is just convoluted and filled with enough wood in the acting to build several good-sized homes. A definite one to skip.

The plot was as deep and empty as an elephants grave

[kreader-40287 · 3/10 · 4 June 2018]

Looked forward to this movie, since it contained several great western all-stars. Acting was pretty good, Drury, Smith and the others did a great job. Even the youngsters were good. The best acting couldn't save the film from the holes in the plot, the lack of continuity, and the poor storyline. In the one scene six men ride up, four are killed, two ride off, the daughter rides after them, kills them but is then killed by another bad guy, where did he come from? Overall was great to see the old stars again, but that was all that was good about this flick. Will someday watch it again to count the mistakes, and errors. That is about all it is good for.

why?

[jmaizen · 1/10 · 18 April 2021]

WHY IN THE HELL ARE THE SUPPOSED "MEN" IN THIS CRAP MOVIE WEARING MORE LIPSTICK THAN THE WOMEN?? I' MEAN C'MON PEOPLE... WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE NORMAL LIP COLOR??? UTTERLY RIDICULOUS MOVIE!!!! EVERYTHING FROM THE ACTING TO THE PLOT TO THE MORE THAN 6 BULLETS FIRED FROM A SIX SHOOTER... WOW, GARBAGE ON A STICK SMELLS BETTER THAN THIS HEAP OF DRIPPING DIAPER RASH..!!!! HELL TO PAY IS TERRIBLE... YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE MORE ENTERTAINMENT WATCHING BEER EVAPORATE OUT OF A FROSTY MUG ON A 100 DEGREE DAY..!!!!

A Western with Seasoned Actors but Lacking a Competent Director

[Uriah43 · 2/10 · 26 July 2023]

This film essentially begins shortly after the Civil War with two brothers named "Kirby Scott" (Kevin Kazakoff) and "Chance Scott" (William Gregory Lee) having a surprise encounter near a small town in Colorado. Kirby has gone to that area to find some land to start a farm while Chance, on the other hand, has become a professional gambler instead. At first, they both become attracted to a young lady by the name of "Rebekah" (Rachel Kimsey) but, as time goes on, it becomes apparent that she prefers Kirby because he is more stable and hard working than Chance. Recognizing this, Chance selects a saloon girl by the name of "Rachel" (Katie Amanda Keane) who is less inhibited--and just happens to be Rebekah's sister. Yet even though the personalities between these two couples are quite different, what none of them realize is that trouble is coming to their small town, and they will all need to deal with it whether they want to or not. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this could have been a satisfactory Western had the seasoned actors present in this film been given an adequate script and a competent director. Unfortunately, they had neither of these things and the movie suffered because of it. To that effect, although I was tempted to give it the worst score possible, I have to admit that the overall plot wasn't terribly bad, and for that reason I have rated it slightly higher than it probably deserves.

Horrible

[BandSAboutMovies · 1/10 · 23 April 2021]

This movie promises ten legendary Western stars.

Those stars would be Buck Taylor (Newly on Gunsmoke), James Drury (The Virginian), Denny Miller (Duke Shannon from Wagon Train), Andrew Prine (who was on numerous cowboy shows but was also Simon King of the Witches), William Smith (who as we all know makes any movie better; he was also Joe Riley on Laredo), Bo Svenson, Peter Brown (Chad Cooper on Laredo), Tom Thomerson (who was Theodore Ogilvie on Gun Shy, the TV spinoff of The Apple Dumpling Gang) and our featured actor this week, Lee Majors (Heath from The Big Valley). And look out! It's Stella Stevens!

Wait a second. That's nine cowboys (and Stella). I guess maybe competitive shooter Gene Pearcey is another one? Or Rico Nance, who was an extra on Deadwood after this? Maybe Griff Furst, who was in the remake of The Magnificent Seven?

Any way you look at it, this is the cowboy version of the streaming slashers that come my way every day. It's legitimately one of the worst-sounding movies I've ever heard and you know a movie is bad when it has William Smith, Lee Majors and Tim Thomerson in it and I still can't stand it.

An utter failure on every level.

Director Chris McIntyre made a movie called Gang Warz with Chino XL and Coolio, as well as Captured Alive with Pat Morita, Backstreet Justice with Viveca Lindfors, Paul Sorvino and Hector Elizondo, plus Hammerlock, another Pat Morita project.

I shall watch none of these.

Fun to watch

[Kimco · 10/10 · 6 January 2006]

If you like shoot em up westerns this is a keeper. I thought that the movie was fun to watch and to see folks that I have not seen in a while. I am no expert but I liked the acting. The town and props etc seemed to fit the period and kind of town that you would find out on the frontier. This is not an A western, not enough people and budget. The costumes and firearms were correct for the time! I expect to see the young actors in the film again in the future. Rachel, Chance, Rebekah and Kirby were great. The SASS (Single Action Shooting Society)members that contributed to this effort were pretty darn good. Hope to see more.

Very entertaining

[sofia-36 · 7/10 · 3 March 2006]

I really enjoyed watching Hell to Pay. I've been a fan of Westerns for as long as I can remember and this one reminded me of a lot of the Westerns from the 1960s (even though I was too young to have seen them in their first run). The one thing that bothered me about the movie was the constant music. It was distracting at times. One thing I did notice, and I wonder how many other fans of Gunsmoke noticed, was the name of Buck Taylor's character. It was a play on Doc Adams' name from Gunsmoke. Instead of Gaylan Adams, Buck Taylor used Adam Galen. I wonder if that was his choice or Chris McIntyre's? Anyway, I would recommend this movie to fans of Westerns. Don't expect anything too "deep". Just plain old entertainment.

Grab The Popcorn, we're headin' West!

[voicedude-1 · 10/10 · 8 January 2006]

"Hell To Pay" bills itself as the rebirth of the Classic Western... it succeeds as a Western genre movie that the entire family could see and not unlike the films baby-boomers experienced decades ago. The good guys are good and the bad guys are really bad! . Bo Svenson, Stella Stevens, Lee Majors, Andrew Prine (excellent in this film) Tim Thomerson and James Drury are all great and it's fun to see them again. James Drury really shines in this one, maybe even better than his days as "The Virginian." In a way, "Hell To Pay" reminds me of those movies in the 60's where actors you know from so many shows make an appearance. If you're of a certain age, Buck Taylor, Peter Brown and Denny Miller and William Smith provide a "wow" factor because we seldom get to see these icons these days. "Hell To Pay" features screen legends along with newer names in Hollywood. Most notable in the cast of "newbies" is Rachel Kimsey (Rebekah), who I've seen lately on "The Young and The Restless" and Kevin Kazakoff, who plays the angst-ridden Kirby, a war-weary man who's torn between wanting to live and let live or stepping in to "do the right thing." William Gregory Lee is excellent as Chance, Kirby's mischievous and womanizing brother. Katie Keane plays Rachel, Rebekah's sister, a woman who did what was necessary to stay alive but giving up her pride in the process. In a small but memorable role, Jeff Davis plays Mean Joe, a former Confederate with a rather nasty mean streak. I think we'll be seeing more of these fine actors in the future. "Hell To Pay" is a fun movie with a great story to tell… grab the popcorn, we're headin' West!.

Fantastic

[exquisitebottega · 10/10 · 9 April 2006]

This is an excellent movie and I would recommend it to everyone. Mr. Drury's acting is top notch as it always is and he blends well with the other actors in the movie. Can't give away any of the suspense or drama found in the movie. Hell to pay is a must see movie!!! The plot was very suspenseful. I would watch this movie over and over again because it has all the elements of a great western movie. It was very authentic in how they displayed the components dealing with this movie which includes the guns, horses, and clothing. The soundtrack is enjoyable and adds flavor to the movie. James Drury has the right touch when picking out a movie to be involved with. This is a another winner for the western genre. !!!!!

The Good Ole Western is back !

[Justin-Fog · 9/10 · 16 April 2006]

This certainly is one of the best western movies produced in the new Millennium. It's an homage to all the stars of the great TV western classics, and it is the ultimate revival of the western movie. The story of two brothers who meet after the War between the States and end up on different sides of the law isn't new but interesting nonetheless, and the shootouts and the atmosphere are great. There is some graphic violence like bad guys getting chopped to death with an axe or women being shot down in cold blood, and Lee Majors doesn't take part in the action until the very end, that's why I gave it 9 out of 10 points. But it still is one of the best new western productions I've ever seen. I've had the honor and pleasure to meet Chris McIntyre at the Festival of the West and have a nice chat with him, and I've had the chance to meet Buck Taylor who performs the role of town doctor. In my opinion, we ought to be much obliged to Chris McIntyre for his efforts to gather that many stars of the classic TV westerns and SASS around him to perform in a new western such as this. Chris has an outstanding talent for choosing the right actors for the main characters, too. Both are young and promising, and I think we should see more of them in future western productions. I sincerely enjoyed this western movie - it was worth every minute. I hope that Chris McIntyre will continue to work on other western movies and present us with some more great productions such as this one. Great work, Chris! Jasper P. Morgan (Pete)