“Times Like Dying” (2016)

This low-budget indie Western short is a compelling little film that tells a straightforward, cliché premise competently and professionally. The cinematography is good, the acting is good, and even some of the budget restraints were able to be turned around into strengths, like not showing the bank robbery but only hearing some of the audio (which created a nice, chilling effect), and then hearing accounts from the characters after the fact (which helped establish their character). Because the film’s premise has been done to death, there’s not a whole lot that’s especially standout, but it does almost everything right, without any missteps. That makes this a short film worth checking out for fans of Westerns, and for fans of low-budget indie films.

Rating: 3.5/5