"The Crossing" Trailer for upcoming Western Short based on the World of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian."

Joe Taylor · July 10, 2014

The Crossing - A Short Synopsis

The "Crossing" is a tale of desertion, betrayal and retribution set in a post-Civil War American West.

In the brutal wilds of the Sonoran desert, SAMUEL CHAMBERS is a desperately wounded youth lost in enemy territory. Pursued by a war party of revenge driven Yuma Indians and worse still, ELI TREATCHER, a vicious, psychopathic madman who Samuel recently rode with during his days with the Glanton gang of government sponsored scalp hunters.

After evading the war party, Samuel is soon apprehended by Treatcher, under the pretense that Treatcher, a skilled war medic, is willing to help Samuel remove the arrow from his leg that is slowly poisoning him. An uneasy sense of foreboding develops as it is revealed that Treatcher has far more sinister plans in store for Samuel, who Treatcher suspects, knows the whereabouts of a fortune in buried gold and Union bonds.

After a purposely botched attempt to remove the arrow, Treatcher spends the evening terrorizing Samuel with the promise of horrific torture come dawn if Samuel does not reveal the location of the hidden loot.

As a new day approaches and Treatcher prepares to slowly murder Samuel, a surprise attack by two members of the pursuing war party leaves Treatcher horribly beaten and disfigured but able to escape the scene after managing to kill one of the attacking indians.

With Samuel again hopeless and near death, the lone Indian, MOON, charges the camp but has a sudden and dispiriting change of heart after observing Samuel in such wretched and defenseless condition.

After suffering a horrific series of poison-induced visions and nightmares, Samuel awakens one morning to find himself alone in the camp with his leg mended and dressed and his fever broken. Samuel is again abandoned, vulnerable and without any prospects of survival in a hostile landscape.

During an agonizing trek through the scorching desert, suffering the scourge of starvation and under constant pursuit from the revenge bent Treatcher, Samuel again comes face to face with Moon, who only days before had demonstrated the ultimate act of mercy and compassion by not only sparing Samuel’s life, but saving it too.

For a brief moment, the two share something familiar but are nevertheless still separated by a vast gulf of incomprehension. Moon, the Indian wanderer, turns and once again leaves Samuel wavering in the unrelenting heat.

Should Samuel choose to follow, there stands a chance for his survival. If he wishes to go his own way, a certain and agonizing death awaits in the clutches of cruel and merciless desert. Or even worse, at the hands of vile and murderous Treatcher.

Samuel’s in a position very few get to be in. That choice is Samuel’s to make.

"The Crossing" is being filmed in 5K resolution with the RED EPIC-X.

All man-made elements, train tracks, power poles, and to be removed shortly .https://vimeo.com/100263853