review for Five Bloody Graves on AllMovie

Despite being more restrained and less chaotic than the biker and horror films that have cemented his cult status, director Al Adamson's existential Western The Gun Riders is ultimately just another gory drive-in quickie. Scripted by and starring Robert Dix, the film's conceit of featuring pompous narration by Death himself doesn't elevate the material, but does allow for some amusingly overwrought statements from the unseen entity ("Only I can cure the pain of living! Only I can show each living thing that dying is nothing more than ceasing to be afraid!"). The plot is simple and hinges on a number of coincidences, as the central character of Ben Thompson continues to run across former friends, lovers, and enemies in the desolate Arizona wilderness. Like the hack Westerns of old, the American Indians are expendable villains, as faceless as the killer in any slasher flick, and are portrayed mostly by Caucasians in heavy makeup (including, in one early scene, director Adamson himself). A number of perfunctory gun battles don't even seem to scare the horses, and the stranded women are beautifully made up in feather boas and velvet despite their tribulations. What little story is allowed to unfold for the first two thirds of The Gun Riders is quickly rendered moot by the savage final section, which finds one character after another being dispatched in bloody fashion, pierced by arrows, impaled on spears, and even tied down on an ant hill ("I think you'll find that death by ants is very slow!"). Inappropriate stock music colors the scenes with fuzz guitar rock instrumentals and free jazz drumming, lending a wiggy charm but crushing any hope of accuracy. Those who have experience with Adamson's bargain-basement style will be able to relate, though serious Western fans will see only a parade of clichés, half-baked attempts at philosophical posturing, and overly graphic violence.