An experimental “hot tub western” short film, created by an ensemble of New Mexico based artists and filmed in Truth or Consequences, NM!

The film is an irreverent reimagining of the western genre, playing with the vocabulary of the Hollywood genre - saloon, showdown, dust, card game, fate, death - to create a campy pastiche. The project was inspired by underground films of the 1950’s-70’s, such as Andy Warhol’s Lonesome Cowboys (1968), Kenneth Anger's Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954), Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo (1970), and Sheila Page’s Women’s Happy Time Commune (1972).

Hell or Hot Water was created in an anarchic, potluck-style: each player came up with their own character and costume, and the ensemble developed scene ideas together. The project was shot on rolls of expired 16mm film with a  Bolex film camera and all the sound in the film was sourced from vinyl records and cassette tape recordings. 

The filmmakers/ensemble include Beth Hansen, Jenette Isaacson, Lacey Chrisco, Chandler Wigton, Alys Griego, Joseph Reeves, Holly Adams, Leon Rael, Ariel Dougherty, Charlotte Janus, Nina Fonoroff, and James Riedeman. Made with equipment and film support from Basement Films.

Showing alongside Hell or Hot Water are a selection of other experimental films by friends that are thematically related.