Django Unchained: 10 Westerns to Watch While You Wait

3. High Plains Drifter (1973)

Although his "Man with No Name" films are what most people think of when relating Clint Eastwood to his western films, the movie that I think is the standout has to be the bizarrely haunting High Plains Drifter. Only his second directorial effort (after the similarly scary Play Misty for Me), Eastwood pretty much turns this unofficial sequel to his films with Leone into a horror movie. Playing a man known only as The Stranger, he takes over the middle-of-nowhere town of Lago and stages a welcoming for a group of recently freed criminals by painting the entire town red and renaming it Hell. When elements of the supernatural start to rear the head, things get incredibly creepy and Eastwood delivers a picture that defies all expectations. This is one not to miss, especially if you want to see one of the most unconventional westerns ever made.
 
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Drew Dietsch is an Entertainment Editor at Fandom.com. He's written for CHUD.com, the News-Press, WhatCulture, and releases a weekly podcast about his media consumption called The Drew Reviews Podcast.