Scott Eastwood's Overlooked 2015 Western With Walton Goggins Is Filled With Twists And Turns

When your dad is The Man with No Name himself, making your first Western is always going to come with its share of pitfalls. Sadly, Scott Eastwood's 2015 effort, "Diablo," fell into many of them on its way to lackluster critic scores. But with Walton Goggins in a supporting role and plenty of twists and turns, the film might just be worth watching for both Western and Goggins fans looking for something to fill the "White Lotus" void.

Clint Eastwood didn't just come to represent the epitome of a revisionist Western protagonist with his role in Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy. He also directed what many consider to be the quintessential revisionist Western with 1992's "Unforgiven." Add to that the fact the man is a legend of cinema in general, and his son was always going to struggle to match his father's success, oater or otherwise.

With that in mind, "Diablo" really wasn't as bad as it could have been. The Western doubled as a psychological thriller co-written and directed by Lawrence Roeck. The Canadian filmmaker hasn't made any features since "Diablo," but he previously directed the 2011 drama "The Forger." That film featured Clint Eastwood's ex-wife Dina Eastwood and shot in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the town that called Eastwood its mayor back in the 1980s. It also featured Scott Eastwood in a minor role, but in 2015, Roeck promoted the young Eastwood dauphin to star with "Diablo." Unfortunately, it didn't do much better critically than "The Forger," though the film isn't entirely without its charms.

By 2015, Scott Eastwood had appeared but hadn't starred in any of his father's movies (which remains the case in 2026) and had yet to make his first Western. "Diablo" changed the latter. After being born in Canada, Lawrence Roeck actually grew up alongside Eastwood in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and he revealed during a 2016 interview with The Movie Sleuth that he once "saved [Eastwood] in a bar fight in Carmel at the Hogs Breath [bar]." That, he noted, helped convince the actor to make his first Western with Roeck.

"Diablo" was the result. It stars the younger Eastwood as Jackson, a U.S. Civil War veteran whose home and barn are burned down by Mexican bandits. Making matters worse, the bandits take Jackson's wife, Alexsandra (Camilla Belle), just before he succumbs to the smoke from the fire, leaving him helpless as his life is destroyed. The next morning, however, Jackson awakens with vengeance on his mind. He digs up a package buried in his barn and sets out in search of his wife and her captors. Meanwhile, Walton Goggins — himself a Western veteran thanks to his role as Boyd Crowder on FX's "Justified" — portrays Ezra, a mysterious stranger who clashes with Jackson and seems to vanish at a moment's notice. Of course, as the film goes on, we learn that all is not as it seems, with a major twist turning the entire plot on its head.

Roeck told The Movie Sleuth that, with "Diablo," he'd tried "not to make the movie for the hard-core Western fan" but rather a "really authentic" 1800s-set film "for the psychological thriller fan." Unfortunately, critics weren't impressed either way.

When "Diablo" was released, it received harsh reviews. As a result, the film sits at 20% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, with Odie Henderson of RogerEbert.com having dismissed its big twist as ineffective. Variety's Andrew Barker, however, wrote that this same twist "isn't without promise," even if it is "clumsily handled." Either way, it's not as if "Diablo" has absolutely nothing going for it.

For one thing, the movie was shot by Dean Cundey, who's worked on everything from the "Back to the Future" trilogy and "Jurassic Park" to the surprisingly rewatchable modern Christmas classic "The Holiday." As such, there's absolutely no problem with the film's visuals, which are actually quite arresting at times. The Letterboxd crowd also seems to have liked "Diablo" slightly more than critics, though there's no shortage of bad reviews on that website, either.

More importantly, there's the fact that this is the debut Western for Scott Eastwood, who left the One Chicago franchise back in 2013 and stayed away from oaters altogether prior to his collaboration with Lawrence Roeck. Given the reviews, you might argue that he should have continued to dodge his father's shadow in that regard, but any fan of Clint Eastwood will surely get a kick out of seeing his son in his first Western — especially since the film pays homage to the elder Eastwood's Western oeuvre at various points. If nothing else, then, you should watch "Diablo" for some neat little Western easter eggs and to see how Scott measures up to his father's legacy. 

At the time of writing, "Diablo" is only available to purchase on Fandango at Home and is missing from the other major digital platforms (including Prime Video and Apple TV).