From the director of Robert the Bruce comes this tension-filled meshing of Western and murder mystery, all driven by a stellar ensemble cast.

When word has gotten out that Robert Dunnigan, a gold prospector, has finally hit the motherload in the town of Yellowstone City, word travels fast and there are those who are happy for him and those who are not. When a gambler attempts to force Dunnigan to repay a loss from a game, at first Dunnigan refuses until Sheriff Ambrose convinces him to pay the debt. At the same time, Cicero, a former slave has come into town for a fresh start. However, that night, things have taken a major turn when Dunnigan is murdered.

Cicero becomes the prime suspect of Dunnigan’s murder and the next day, Sheriff Ambrose has him locked up. Meanwhile, as the town is convinced that Cicero is the murderer, a shocking event happens when that night, one of the girls working at the local brothel, Violet, is murdered. When Violet is found the next day, Ambrose and his men are still convinced that Cicero may have been responsible. However, local priest Thaddeus and his wife Annie slowly began to realize that Cicero may not be the murderer after all, and they decide to do what they can to clear his name and find the real murderer.

Richard Gray, the director of Robert the Bruce, directs this amazing film that should attract those who love Westerns as well as those who love a good murder mystery. With collaborator Eric Belgau, Gray has taken the recently constructed Yellowstone Ranch to shoot the film there. Despite the COVID pandemic shutting down production for six months, the film is driven by an amazing ensemble cast of veterans and young stars.

Thomas Jane is excellent in the role of Thaddeus, the local preacher who goes from someone people listen to in church to a potential hero when he is convinced that the former slave is not responsible for the murder of the gold prospector, played here by Shameless’ Zack McGowan. Isaiah Mustafa is also great as Cicero, who is just looking to start a new life but finds himself in a world where despite some people, there’s still racial tensions, which in turn lead to a very shocking twist in terms of two major characters, the two men who run the local saloon. This twist brings out great emotional performances from the legendary Richard Dreyfuss and veteran character actor John Ales.

Gabriel Byrne is great as Sheriff Ambrose, who only wants to ensure law and order in the town with his son Jim, played by Nat Wolff, as the rookie deputy who still is getting his feet wet. Aimee Garcia pulls off a wonderful performance as brothel head Isabel, who dreams of a better life outside of her profession while some of the other brothel works, notably Emma Kenney’s Rebecca, have a sense of reality as opposed to Isabel’s dreams. Anna Camp delves into the mix as Alice, Thaddeus’ wife who goes above and beyond to prove Cicero’s innocence along with her husband. The reveal is pretty jaw-dropping and unexpected but guarantee it’s a good one.

Murder at Yellowstone City is a great tense film that meshes the Western with the murder mystery. The cast is amazing to watch as we see the tensions at an all time high as well as being able to help solve the mystery of the film.

WFG RATING: A

RLJE Films presents a Yellow Brick Films production in association with f8 Films, SkyWolf Media, Renegade Entertainment, and Brigade Media Capital. Director: Richard Gray. Producers: Richard Gray, Kelly Frazier, Robert Menzies, Anjul Nigam, and Lisa Wolofsky. Writer: Eric Belgau. Cinematography: John Garrett. Editing: Joe Mitacek.

Cast: Thomas Jane, Anna Camp, Isaiah Mustafa, Nat Wolff, Aimee Garcia, Tanaya Beatty, Scottie Thompson, Zach McGowan, Emma Kenney, John Ales, Richard Dreyfuss, Gabriel Byrne.

The film will be released in select theaters, VOD, and Digital on June 24.