In writer-director Richard Weston’s Western horror, The Song of the Shrike, the road to redemption is long and deadly. It’s 1879, and Naseby (Christian Faber) finds himself in the middle of nowhere on the run after losing everything… his wife… children… his soul. A year later, Naseby and Marshall Andrews (Ben Longthorne) find themselves on a pilgrimage to an unknown location to confront their past as well as the dark spirit that lead them there.
The Song of the Shrike is not about the physical journey the two men are on. It’s more about the spiritual journey of redemption and judgment. Naseby is the convert. After losing everything, his only solace is in the Lord and a self-flagellant recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. On the other hand, Andrews is the more hard-hearted one, as he knows exactly where he’s going when it’s all said and done.
“…in the middle of nowhere on the run after losing everything…his wife… children… his soul.”
In The Song of the Shrike, Weston takes us on a journey of tension. Both men are on their death row march and have very different perspectives on their fates. The film is essentially about two cowboys on a sojourn through a mountainous desert range. Weston effectively shows the burden they’ve carried over the years, and final judgment can be seen in their eyes.
The only complaint that I have is the film is pretty bare-bones visually and in its storytelling. The Song of the Shrike hints a the two characters’ past, and when they reach their destination, the story wraps up quickly. But you do feel the emotion of Naseby and Andrews, which is the point.
For screening information for The Song of the Shrike, visit the Citadel Pictures official website.
