| South of Heaven, West of Hell | |
| Director: | Dwight Yoakam |
| Music: | Dwight Yoakam (Additional music by Jim Latham) |
| Cinematography: | James Glennon |
| Editing: | Robert A. Ferretti Mike Murphy |
| Studio: | Delta Deuce Films Goldmount Pictures Movie Mongrel Trimark Pictures |
| Distributor: | August Entertainment Blue steel Releasing Emerald Geneon Entertainment Jigsaw Entertainment Phaedra Cinema |
| Runtime: | 132 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $4,000,000 |
| Gross: | $28,149[1] |
South of Heaven, West of Hell is a 2000 American western film starring Dwight Yoakam, who also co-wrote, directed, and scored the film. The film follows Valentine Casey (Yoakam), a Marshal in the Arizona territory when he receives a surprise visit from his outlaw adoptive father (Luke Askew) on Christmas Eve 1907. This stands as the only film Yoakam has starred in, written and directed.
The film premiered on the closing night of the 2000 Slamdance Film Festival,[2] and released in theatres on December 15, 2000.[3]
Shortly before production began, the financier backed out and Yoakam made the decision to finance the film on his own, partially through the sale of his home in Malibu.[4] His production company (A Cast of Strays) ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and several crew members registered complaints with unions and filed lawsuits in small claims court against the company. Yoakam said it was "the hardest experience I've ever gone through in my professional life in terms of executing art".[5] To help pay off the debt accrued while making the movie, Yoakam hired a cheaper backing band in 2002, which resulted in a falling out with his longtime producer, bandleader, and guitarist Pete Anderson.[6] Yoakam originally meant Vincent Gallo to play the lead rather than himself. Nor was he intending to direct it.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 14% approval rating, based on 7 reviews with an average rating of 3.50 out of 10.[7] On Metacritic the film has a score of 22% based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8]
Robert Koehler of Variety said that the film "lacks the critical ingredients of shape, consistent tone, rhythm and economy that would make this truly old-fashioned oater into a lean, compelling adventure". He added that "there's no grace to the interplay of images and emotions. At every step, the filmmakers seem unable to pull off an exaggerated horse opera, and they never know when to pull the plug on scenes that are going nowhere".[9] Writing for Film Threat, Michael Dequina said in his review that "watching Yoakam's film...is like eating a shit sandwich. The title may be a cutesy joke describing someplace close to hell, but make no mistake—this film is hell."[10]