KILLING FAITH

(director/writer: Ned Crowley; screenwriter: story by David Martin; cinematographer: Justin Hamilton; editor: Thijs Bazelmans; music: Brooke & Will Blair; cast: Guy Pearce (Dr. Bender), DeWanda Wise (Sarah), Bill Pullman (Ross), Jamie Neumann (Whitey), Keith Jardine (Gibson), Raoul Max Trujillo (Shakespeare), Jack Alcott (Edward), Emily Ford (The Girl), Joanna Cassidy (Maggie); Runtime: 108; MPAA Rating: R; producers:
Wes Hager, David Martin, Ned Crowley, Zori Davidkova; Obsolete Media; 2025)

“A haunting, unconventional, and supernatural Western.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

 
A haunting, unconventional, and supernatural Western directed and written by Ned Crowley (“Middle Man”), from a story by David Martin.

In 1849 a plague sweeps across America.

The former Black slave Sarah (DeWanda Wise) has a blonde daughter (Emily Ford) whose touch kills whatever she touches. She wears pink mittens to keep her so-called evil power in check.

A fearful Sarah takes the girl to see Preacher Ross (Bill Pullman), a faith-healer, for a cure. They are accompanied by the widowed Dr. Bender (Guy Pearce), a non-believer in any type of religion, whose pain from personal grief is numbed by ether. On their 5-day journey across the hostile Arizona frontier they are attacked by bandits (Jamie Neumann & Keith Jardine) who try to kidnap the girl, they meet a friendly half-wit farmer (Jack Alcott), they are served an exotic meal by a matriarch (Joanna Cassidy) of a diseased family, and they are aided in their search for the faith-healer by a Native American guide (Raoul Max Trujillo).
 
It’s a weird and bleak redemption story about finding a reason to live. The characters couldn’t be any stranger. The film’s a doozy.

REVIEWED ON 11/4/2025  GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com