'The Bygone' Trailer: This Grim Modern Western Should Have Left When It Had The Chance

A violent, gritty neo-western, you say? I’m an easy mark, you have my full attention. And the trailer for Graham and Parker Phillips’ new movie, The Bygone, certainly piques my interest. Check it out below.

Screen Anarchy debuted this trailer for The Bygone, which marks the feature directorial debut for the Phillips brothers, who also wrote the script. In addition to those duties, Graham Phillips, who is best known as an actor, also stars in the film.

The Bygone looks like something different for Graham. I primarily recognize him from things like Riverdale and Blockers, but this is some down and dirty business. There’s grim new-frontier crime, human trafficking, violence, and all manner of nastiness, as well as striking cinematography and a dark, meditative tone. Sign me up.

Here’s an extensive synopsis. Let's hope it's not just another white savior story:

Hard times have hit the Summer Ranch, one of the last remaining true cattle ranches in North Dakota, where Kip Summer along with his father Hadley struggle to keep their ranch afloat. Still coping with the recent loss of his mother, Kip seeks comfort at a nearby brothel where he comes to the aid of Waniya, a beautiful, downcast Native American girl who’s being harassed. When it’s clear she has nowhere to go, Kip brings her to the safety of the ranch.  

The following night two headlights roll up behind Kip's truck and a man dressed in black approaches and assaults Kip, knocking him out. When Kip comes to, dawn is breaking and Waniya is missing. 

The next day county Sheriff informs Kip that his assailant is Paris, a pimp with a violent history who is wanted for murder, and advises him to abandon Kip’s pursuit of Waniya. Despite the Sheriff's forewarning, Kip begins his search and sets out into the murky borderland between crime and industry, where he is thrown into the underground world of trafficking, prejudice, and evil as old as the land itself…

The Bygone also stars Shawn Hatosy (Animal Kingdom), Ritchie Coster (Happy), Jacqueline Toboni (Grimm), Jamie McShane (Bloodline), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Sydney Schafer (Nocturnal Animals), and Tokala Black Elk (Wind River). 

Gravitas Ventures releases the film on VOD on November 12 and this is one I’m going to need to track down.