'Brimstone' a feminist horror tale in a Wild West costume

"Brimstone" looks like your typical Wild West revenge tale.

It acts more like a cautionary feminist horror movie, one that glimpses a lawless, male-dominated society in which women become interchangeable pieces of property used for the benefit of men.

The film, an enticingly sordid and exploitative romp through a nihilistic frontier, stars Dakota Fanning as Liz, a pioneer wife and mother.

She cannot speak, and the cringe-worthy reason is revealed deep inside the story of how this woman rises up against the tyranny of men.

Liz works on the family ranch with her son, daughter and husband, until one day, a new minister comes to town.

The scarred, fire-and-brimstone Reverend (chameleonic Australian Guy Pearce) frightens Liz. He soon reveals himself to be the Hannibal Lecter of the clergy, a sick, obsessed Bible-thumper who makes Robert Mitchum's ministerial murderer in "Night of the Hunter" look virtuous.

When his wife (Carice van Houten) dares to notice his unnatural attraction to his pubescent daughter, the Rev locks her head in a metallic mask with a steel mouthpiece to guarantee she cannot speak or eat unless he wills it.

The church and community don't object. He's a man of God. Liz knows all about him.

"Brimstone," directed with a blunt instrument by Dutch filmmaker Martin Koolhoven, comes in chronologically shifted chapters with biblical titles such as "Exodus" and "Genesis."

Each delves into the horrific, dehumanizing events shaping Liz's life, such as when she becomes a saloon prostitute under a sadistic boss whose insistence on keeping customers happy knows no limits on cruelty.

"Brimstone" also knows no limits on grotesque depictions, or concise storytelling - it runs 148 long minutes.

Fanning and Pearce buttress this Wild West chamber of female horrors with passionate conviction,

Yet it remains a grim and unsavory tale of female empowerment with the kind of her-head-is-bloodied-but-unbowed ending you feel compelled to applaud, but can't bring yourself to do it.