That's what fans and critics alike are saying, as the raucous comic-horror film shot around Park County by a Kalispell filmmaker who grew up in Cody is generating intense interest in advance of its release later this year.
Director Andrew Wiest, 29, screened "Dead Noon" for an appreciative crowd Friday as part of the writers series at Northwest College, located in Powell. Wiest attended NWC, along with Tim Schoessler, who scored parts of the film and is now a music department faculty member.
The leading independent film production and distribution company plans to market the film to a cult audience on DVD and cable TV, Wiest said.
"Dead Noon" follows two modern-day lawmen as they battle a posse of demon gunslingers from the Old West, returned from the dead to avenge past wrongs.
It features a stylistic mash-up of horror and Western, action and comedy, that explores Biblical and historical themes. Wiest takes viewers on a sweeping tour of contrasting cinematic styles and arresting visual compositions.
"It has outstanding cinematography and editing, and the special effects were a labor of love," said Richard Wilson, chairman of the NWC humanities division and co-founder of the school's Rosebud Film Group, which co-sponsored the screening.
"The whole thing came together in a package that surprises me," Wilson said.
Wiest cites as a major influence director Sam Raimi, whose 1981 horror gore-fest "The Evil Dead" has become a cult classic.
But "Dead Noon" - billed as "High Noon" meets "Dawn of the Dead" - also pays stylistic homage to directors like Hong Kong action giant John Woo, suspense master Alfred Hitchcock and low-budget auteur Robert Rodriguez, among others.
"I was relieved to see that it's not just imitation," Wilson said of Wiest's diverse stylistic palette. "He's been working several years to create this blend of Western and horror, and he's also given us a new way of looking at the landscape of northwestern Wyoming."
Filmed in Kalispell, Douglas and around Park County, the movie features local landmarks like Heart Mountain, Cody's Old Trail Town, the Park County Courthouse and the hills and canyons around the area.
Shot on the miniDV digital video format, "Dead Noon" has more than 700 computer-generated effects created by James Teague.
Ranging from fireballs to animated skeletons to buckets of gushing blood, the effects are an integral part of the film, and help give "Dead Noon" the comic book action feel that Wiest said he was aiming for.
"We originally weren't going to have that many effects shots, but Jim was doing such a good job, we kept giving him stuff to do," Wiest said, adding that the editing and special effects took 18 months to complete.
While Lionsgate may rearrange and trim some scenes for the film's television release, the action sequences are unlikely to be cut, he said.
"The thing I found is that if you have an explosion, they'll keep your scene. Dialogue they axe, but blow stuff up, and they'll use it," Wiest said.
And there are enough explosions in "Dead Noon" to please even the most die-hard action fan, giving the picture a decidedly drive-in movie feeling.
"I grew up watching drive-in movies," said Wiest, whose family owned Cody's West Park Drive-In theater, formerly located near the Stampede Rodeo Grounds.
Wiest said he also worked at the Cody Theater and local video stores, and it's clear his cinematic lexicon draws from a deep and abiding love of the drive-in genre that can only come from repeated viewings of fan favorites.
That authentic appreciation of action-horror movies comes across on the screen, and has brought strong early buzz from fans anxious to see the final release of "Dead Noon," which was named best feature at last year's Fargo Fantastic Film Festival.
Wiest is headed to Hollywood later this month to shoot additional scenes for Lionsgate that will frame the "Dead Noon" story, using a high-profile star to help market the picture.
Actors being considered include Lance Henriksen, from the "Alien" film series; Michael Madsen, featured in many of Quentin Tarantino's movies; and horror character actor favorite Sid Haig.
Though he's excited to work with industry veterans to shoot the extra material, Wiest said he hopes to continue making movies around Wyoming and Montana, following his self-described run-and-gun, seat-of-the-pants style of figuring things out as he goes along.
Now living in Kalispell, Wiest is working on many new projects, including "Cody and the Kid," a family movie featuring a time-traveling Buffalo Bill that would be shot in Cody.
In Hollywood, where marketing is critical in getting any picture seen by the right crowd, Wiest's Western roots are likely to be one of the best ways of promoting his films.
"They kind of like that quirky angle, that I'm this crazy Wyoming filmmaker," Wiest said of industry people he has met.
If "Dead Noon" lives up to its pre-release hype, expect to see more of the crazy Wyoming filmmaker, not only shooting in the streets and hills around Cody, but also coming soon, to a theater near you.
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