Bruce Dern Is the Voice of Death in ‘Buck Alamo’
A feature film about an outlaw musician who was more of an outlaw than a musician seeking redemption.
Bruce Dern grumbles over the opening images in the first trailer to Buck Alamo, an experimental drama from director Ben Epstein that has its world premiere Friday at the Oldenburg International Film Festival.
The Nebraska and The Hateful Eight star plays the incorporeal voice of Death, the ultimate Man in Black, in the feature, described as an “acid Western musical.”
In the trailer (see below), Dern sounds like an avenging angel or old testament prophet promising the worst for the titular Buck Alamo, played by Sonny Carl Davis. Buck is a country preacher who has lost his flock and is estranged from his daughter (Lorelei Linklater) but still holds out hope for redemption before his final showdown. Lee Eddy, Kriston Woodreaux, Chase Joliet, Blake Webber, and CK McFarland co-star.
The Buck Alamo trailer opens with a title card: “Stanza 3: ‘And The Strict Master Death Bids Them Dance’,” an indication of the film’s experimental style and structure. It definitely won’t be for everyone, but the Oldenburg audiences, accustomed to the weirdest and wildest that indie cinema has to offer, should lap it up.
The 27th edition of Oldenburg Fest, which runs through September 20, is a hybrid. There are in-person screenings in cinemas in the northern German city as well as online streaming of festival titles for those who can’t attend, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Check out the trailer for Buck Alamo below.