6 Best Supernatural Western Movies Like Bass X Machina

6 Supernatural Westerns Like Bass X Machina, Including Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter Published Nov 14, 2026, 1:15 PM EST Padraig is a Senior Features Writer and has been part of Screen Rant since 2017. Padraig is a writer, editor and retired Game of Thrones extra who has been writing about movies and TV online for over a decade. He has also written for The Irish Times, Den Of Geek, Little White Lies and many more. It's pronounced Paw-rick, BTW. For those who want a supernatural Western in a similiar vein as Netflix's Bass X Machina, here are the best options. Bass X Machina was critically acclaimed from the moment it landed on Netflix (it currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, as a matter of fact) and the show offers viewers an inventive and exciting blend of Western, steampunk and sci-fi. While it might be based on legendary real-life bounty hunter Bass Reeves, its approach to his story is a decidedly alternate-history one; in short, he definitely did not have a cyborg arm. Netflix's anime is also winning kudos for doing something inventive within the Western genre, with its horror and steampunk elements making it stand out. There aren't that many sci-fi or horror-themed Western movies in existence as is - and even fewer that are any good. Still, for those who dug Bass X Machina's vibes, there are a few Western gems that should keep them occupied until the (potential) second season arrives. 6 Priest (2011) Priest is a flawed adaptation of a cult vampire manga, and a movie that tried to turn Paul Bettany (VisionQuest) into an action star. The film received mixed reviews and underperformed, but of all the films on this list, it might be the closest to Bass X Machina in terms of aesthetic. It plays like a mix of a traditional Western (albeit a post-apocalyptic one) with a steampunk anime, where Bettany's Priest travels across a vast desert on his cool hover bike. It benefits from a surprisingly great cast too, which includes Karl Urban as the villain, Maggie Q, Christopher Plummer, and Lily Collins. Priest is a stealth remake of The Searchers, where Bettany's titular warrior seeks to rescue his kidnapped niece from a horde of vampires. Putting its stilted dialogue to one side, the film is really an excuse for some well-executed action and impressive production design. It doesn't overstay its welcome either, as it runs under 80 minutes without credits. 5 Ghosts Of Mars (2001) This Space Western is the penultimate John Carpenter movie, and the poor response it received made the beloved filmmaker retreat into semi-retirement. In truth, Ghosts of Mars should have been sold as a B-movie actioner with its tongue set firmly in cheek, instead of a straight horror film. Despite being set in 2176 on the titular red planet, the film is very much a Western. It turns Mars into a vast, dusty Old West wasteland dotted with remote outposts, with the heroes (including a young Jason Statham) facing off against a horde of miners possessed by the spirits of the planet's former inhabitants. Ghosts of Mars suffers from chintzy sets and special effects, and its flashback within a flashback structure is needlessly convoluted. Those complaints aside, the film is a trashy good time with the right mindset, and its blend of classic Western with futuristic tech is a creative one. 4 High Plains Drifter (1973) This Clint Eastwood Western saw the screen icon directing himself in an eerie morality tale. The plot sees Eastwood's Stranger coming to an isolated mining town and hired to protect the citizens from bandits seeking vengeance. The Stranger has his own agenda, though, and is weirdly intent on making the town pay for its past wrongs. While High Plains Drifter resembles a traditional Western on the surface, it has undeniable horror undertones. It heavily implies that The Stranger is some kind of supernatural being, and he even paints the town red and renames it "Hell" in the finale. It's one of Eastwood's meanest movies too, including a character being whipped to death in a grueling sequence that feels endless. It's not quite as polished as his later directorial efforts like The Outlaw Josey Wales, but its raw edges arguably only adds to its power. Perhaps its greatest achievement is that, over 50 years later, audiences are still arguing over whether The Stranger is a spirit or not. 3 Near Dark (1987) Kathryn Bigelow's mix of horror and Neo-Western may have bombed upon release, but it has since become a beloved cult item. Near Dark is both savagely violent and oddly beautiful, thanks to its ethereal Tangerine Dream score and the way Bigelow shoots the desert landscapes the movie's band of bloodsuckers moves through. Another unique element is how Bigelow makes audiences care about its vampire gang despite the horrific acts they commit. They are very much a family, with all the love and hate that implies. That makes moments like the bar massacre all the more disturbing, as the clan treats the trapped patrons of an isolated bar like cattle being led to slaughter. Inspite of all the modern tech on display, like automatic weapons and cars, Bigelow makes Near Dark feel like it takes place in the 1880s instead of the 1980s. There is a sense modern society has yet to fully intrude upon the isolated little worlds these vamps move through - to the point where it ends with a classic Western showdown. 2 Pale Rider (1985) Image by Everett Collection Pale Rider resurrected Westerns during the 1980s, after the genre was all but killed by the notorious bomb that was Heaven's Gate. The film also marked Clint Eastwood's return to Westerns after a decade's absence, where he once again played a mysterious gunslinger arriving in a small town to wreak righteous vengeance. In one sense, Pale Rider could be viewed as a loose remake of High Plains Drifter, but there is a key difference. Clint has confirmed that the movie's Preacher is an out-and-out ghost, making the film a low-key supernatural horror. There are no jump scares or gory slasher kills, of course, but it still involves an avenging angel taking down evil men for their various sins. It's also one of Eastwood's most underrated "Oaters," and one that get sovershadowed by the likes of Unforgiven. With Pale Rider, he made a stripped-down, terse adventure with a compelling cast of characters and one of his best final shootouts. 1 Sinners (2025) Sinners is a big potpourri of a movie, and has elements of horror, romance, Southern Gothic and even musicals. At its core, it could be labeled a vampire Western, with Quentin Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn (itself a clear horror Neo-Western) being a noted influence. Thematically, Bass X Machina and Ryan Coogler's Sinners share much in common. Both take a long, harsh look at the history of racism and oppression in America's past, while celebrating the cultures of marginalized communities. It's to the credit of both projects that they tackle such charged material while still working as great action/horror exercises. Sinners struck a chord because it took so many disparate elements and managed to make them work seamlessly. It also invested the time in letting audiences get to know and love its central band of characters before they start dying in horrifying ways. Coogler had already proven himself a deft hand with action on the likes of Black Panther, and he stages some intense battles in his southern epic. Sinners lacks the steampunk edge of Bass X Machina, but the two make for a solid double bill. More than that, Coogler's acclaimed genre mashup is one of the most moving horror films of the past decade and entirely deserving of the praise that greeted it upon release. Source: Rotten Tomatoes Release Date 2026 - 2026-00-00 Network Netflix Writers Chad Handley Cast Janelle Monae Glory (voice) Brian Tyree Henry Bass Reeves (voice)