The Gunfighter

An outlaw known simply as the Gunfighter rides into a sun baked town and takes a seat in a dusty saloon. A watching narrator guides the rhythm, laying out each turn of events with confident flair. But here the audience can hear the narrator too, and the narrator seems to relish toying with the scene as if the room itself were a stage. The premise quickly plays with familiar Western bravado, turning dialogue and action into a playful conversation between story and storyteller. The result is a lean, brisk riff on the genre that keeps the audience guessing what the next line will reveal.

Directed by Eric Kissack and released in 2014 as a short comedy western, The Gunfighter comes from a concept by Kevin Tenglin. The cast includes Shawn Parsons as the Gunfighter with Scott Beehner, Brace Harris, Eileen O'Connell, and Jordan Black.

This short stands out for its meta approach to the western myth. By letting the audience hear the narrator as a participant, it playfully questions who controls the tale and who pays the price for storytelling. The result is a witty nudge to genre expectations.

Audiences have responded with a steady smile and a curiosity about who is steering the action. The film uses humor to bite at classic Western bravado while underscoring the power of narration. On IMDb it holds a 7.074/10 rating from 128 votes.