Fans of the old Westerns are sure to find something to like in “Frontier Crucible”. It’s a film that captures some of the genre’s biggest strengths as well as its noticeable weaknesses. Yet director Travis Mills doesn’t blindly stick to the classic Western formula. He and screenwriter S. Craig Zahler give us a slow-burning and character-driven feature that doesn’t shy away from bursts of grisly violence.

Filmed in the stunning Monument Valley Tribal Park in Prescott, Arizona, there is never a shortage of rugged natural beauty to take in. Despite having a modest budget, Mills and cinematographer Maxime Alexandre make the most of every shot. They lean heavily on their locations, often filming in places where no vehicle could get. It led to an arduous and exhausting eighteen-day shoot, but the results are magnificent. In addition to the gorgeous scenery, the film has a striking aesthetic that calls back the Westerns of the early 1960s.

As for the story, it’s based on Harry Whittington’s 1961 novel “Desert Stake-Out”. Set in 1872, it unfolds across the Arizona Territory where tensions boil between frontier settlers and native Apaches. It’s where me meet Merrick Beckford (Myles Clohessy), a former Union soldier whose name is well known among the locals. Clohessy’s performance is unintentionally comical at first as he goes too far in channeling Clint Eastwood, from his scruffy beard to his brown cigarette to Clint’s famous squint. But over time Clohessy loosens up and finds his own rhythm.

Merrick is summoned to a meeting with a tired cavalryman, Major O’Rourke (the always welcomed William H. Macy) who desperately needs to get medical supplies to San Carlos, where a fever epidemic has spread across the small town. But the journey crosses Apache land and sending a company of soldiers could spark a conflict. Merrick knows how to navigate the Apache, so he reluctantly agrees to transport the wagon full of meds himself.

But his journey is sidetracked after he stops to assist five strangers who were ambushed by Apaches at a remote watering hole. Among the group is Valerie (Mary Stickley) and her seriously wounded husband Jeff (Eli Brown). They’re accompanied by three hard-to-read ruffians, Charlie (Thomas Jane), his wiry son Billy (Ryan Masson), and his shifty hand Edmond (Armie Hammer).

The unique and specific dynamics that emerge between Merrick and the five strangers shapes the storytelling going forward. A big reason it works is that Mills invests time in those dynamics. Psychological chess matches between characters leads to rising tensions. And unease sets in as motivations gets sketchier and trust evaporates. Soon it becomes obvious that their inner conflicts are more dangerous and threatening than the Apache.

While the script impressively balances honoring classic Westerns and subverting them, its dialogue doesn’t always make things easy for the actors. The stilted dialogue can be as short and silly as “Is something amiss?” or as long and ungainly as “I fear the smells of this area may effect my constitution.” My personal favorite may be, “You purchased for us the merciless black wrath of the Apache!”. In fairness, this isn’t a crippling issue by any means, nor is it prevalent throughout. But it can be distracting.

Reminiscent of a slow-boiling crime thriller, “Frontier Crucible” steadily builds towards an explosively violent final act where all the tensions reach their breaking point. But even it isn’t handled in a conventional way. While not everything in the last twenty minutes gels, it’s nice to see filmmakers playing around with genre rather than being shackled to it. That creative freedom is what keeps “Frontier Crucible” from being just another trip to the Old West.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS