Les âmes damnées de Rio Chico

A blotchy looking spaghetti western by Luigi Batzella ("The Beast in Heat", "Devil's Wedding Night & "Night for Satan") that plays out like a lacklustre mystery (with a anticlimactic reveal rescued by its operatic closing), yet it's strangely engaging, as a gun slinging cowboy (a stoic Jeff Cameron) seeks vengeance for the death of his brother. All he has to go by is a name; Ringo Brown. The man who killed his brother. How the slipshod story came to this connection early on is confusing, then it gets even more so once the plot gets moving. But halfway through the details (especially that of the corrupt company men) kind of come together. So this leads to a lot of shady glares, calling out names ("Is your name Ringo Brown"?), whisky drinking, gold fever, innuendo chat and Krista Nell. These actions, or distractions in this dustbowl town can at times instigate bog-standard fistfights and shootouts, which are workmanlike in execution, but no way matching the best of them in the flair department. While it might lack the frenetic style, the shootouts are gritty with a quick draw moment of a guy being shot in both ears! A comfortable viewing in spite of the rough around the edges quality, but it won't linger on your mind for long.