Before they showed The Road at the /slash Filmfestival, they showed John Hillcoat‘s short movie Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater.

Plot:
John Marston (Rob Wiethoff) is a cowboy who used to be a bandit but is now hunting his fromer partner in crime.

Red Dead Redemption is a computer game and the movie was made from the in-game engine. That goes a long way explaining the disjointed nature of this short film, but unfortunately it doesn’t make it any better.

The film is confusing for people who are not familiar with the game, because most characters aren’t properly introduced and it jumps between scenes and you’re never really sure how you ended up where you are. And I’m guessing that for people who know the game, it’s boring since it seems to be only a rehash of what happens in it.

It might have worked as a five minutes extended trailer, but half an hour was too long and it got pretty boring.

I’m not a Western fan myself, but even if I was, I don’t think that this short film would have tempted me to play Red Dead Redemption.