Bone Tomahawk (2015)
S. Craig Zahler
"This is why frontier life is so difficult. Not because of the Indians or the elements, but because of the idiots."
There's a newer trend in western films, where they're spruced up with a more modern mindset. Films like Hell or High Water, Wind River, and No Country for Old Men take the tired old tropes of classic Westerns, and add grittier, present-day issues. Anti-capitalism, senseless murder, and racism become the focus, rather than cattle rustlers, romantic heroes, or bands of brigands riding into town.
Bone Tomahawk isn't set in the modern day, and more disappointingly, the themes aren't as revolutionary as some of the other films I've mentioned, but it still does some admirable things.
First and foremost: no white washing, which is a breath of fresh air. All of the Native American characters in the film are played by Native American actors. Unfortunately most of the characters are monstrous troglodytic cannibals, but the local professor in town is Native, and calls out the brutality of one of the white characters. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction (unlike Creepshow 2, which was unpleasantly racist).
Second, there's a major female character who is neither helpless nor uneducated. It's a nice twist for an old timey western to make the town doctor a woman. S. Craig Zahler could have done more with her, maybe put her in the posse (which I was hoping for after the first 15 minutes), but at least she wasn't just a shrieking damsel in distress.
Third, the brutal violence of the third act was uncomfortable. Limbs are hacked off, arrows are sent through limbs, bellies are cut open, guts are spilled, and poor bastard is split in half...it's disgusting and a lot more than we've come to expect from westerns.
Fourth, and finally, Bone Tomahawk is a stark film. There's very little ambient music, so the foley audio (things like footsteps, hooves, and grisly murders) comes front and center. It's an interesting artistic choice, and certainly provides a more visceral experience. We're programed to expect grand, sweeping scores to accompany the wide landscapes of the west, so the silence is striking.
Unfortunately, none of this adds up to a horror classic. It's an ok movie, but spends too much time as a traditional western before it gets to the gory good stuff. It makes the classic blunder of mistaking length for depth, and just ends up being a hollow slog through the middle.
The story is simple enough: a couple of brigands (played by David Arquette and Sid Haig) ambush some sleeping travelers and slit their throats. When they try to escape an approaching group of men on horseback, they flee into the hills and stumble upon a bizarre burial ground. One of them knocks over a cairn with a human skull on top, and is eviscerated by an imposing howling man. David Arquette escapes with his life, but ends up leading the tribe of violent natives to the small town of Bright Hope.
Here we meet an impressive cast of characters: Kurt Russell is the sheriff, Richard Jenkins is his elderly Civil War veteran deputy, Fred Malamed is the local barkeep, Patrick Wilson is a builder with a broken leg, Lili Simmons is his doctor wife, and Matthew Fox is an educated and wealthy man who is passing through town and gets caught up in the fun. After the natives abduct David Arquette, Lili Simmons, and another deputy from town, the local Native professor reveals that the tribe that took them has no name and live in the hills as troglodytic cannibals. With no choice, and no other help to access, Sheriff Kurt Russell forms a posse of Jenkins, Wilson, and Fox to set out and find them.
This all sounds tremendously exciting I know, but the next 70 minutes of the film is just traveling through the frontier scrubland to their destination. There are some interesting scenes, some beautiful landscapes, and the challenges the characters face become more and more dire, but it's still just a lot of walking through the wilderness.
The third act tries to makes up for it, though, as our heroes come face to face with the brutally violent tribe of monster-men. It's a bloody mess, and the ending is quite satisfying. I just wish that Zahler spent more time in the editing bay and cut it down to 100 minutes or so. It would have been a tighter narrative, and would probably work more as a horror film. Imagine if From Dusk Til Dawn was over two hours long, and that's pretty much Bone Tomahawk.
It's cool that Zahler was able to put something like this (with a cast this impressive) together for under $2 million, but it's not nearly as good as I was hoping or expected based on reviews I've read. To be fair, I probably would have enjoyed it more outside of October.
I don't have a ton to say about Bone Tomahawk that you couldn't get from a trailer. It doesn't blaze new trails in horror, and probably won't get into my regular Spooktober rotation. But it's a solid, if not particularly memorable, Western. , Kurt Russell, and/or brutal violence, it could be worth your time. The best part: it's free to stream on Amazon Prime.
Bone Tomahawk isn't set in the modern day, and more disappointingly, the themes aren't as revolutionary as some of the other films I've mentioned, but it still does some admirable things.
First and foremost: no white washing, which is a breath of fresh air. All of the Native American characters in the film are played by Native American actors. Unfortunately most of the characters are monstrous troglodytic cannibals, but the local professor in town is Native, and calls out the brutality of one of the white characters. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction (unlike Creepshow 2, which was unpleasantly racist).
Second, there's a major female character who is neither helpless nor uneducated. It's a nice twist for an old timey western to make the town doctor a woman. S. Craig Zahler could have done more with her, maybe put her in the posse (which I was hoping for after the first 15 minutes), but at least she wasn't just a shrieking damsel in distress.
Third, the brutal violence of the third act was uncomfortable. Limbs are hacked off, arrows are sent through limbs, bellies are cut open, guts are spilled, and poor bastard is split in half...it's disgusting and a lot more than we've come to expect from westerns.
Fourth, and finally, Bone Tomahawk is a stark film. There's very little ambient music, so the foley audio (things like footsteps, hooves, and grisly murders) comes front and center. It's an interesting artistic choice, and certainly provides a more visceral experience. We're programed to expect grand, sweeping scores to accompany the wide landscapes of the west, so the silence is striking.
Unfortunately, none of this adds up to a horror classic. It's an ok movie, but spends too much time as a traditional western before it gets to the gory good stuff. It makes the classic blunder of mistaking length for depth, and just ends up being a hollow slog through the middle.
The story is simple enough: a couple of brigands (played by David Arquette and Sid Haig) ambush some sleeping travelers and slit their throats. When they try to escape an approaching group of men on horseback, they flee into the hills and stumble upon a bizarre burial ground. One of them knocks over a cairn with a human skull on top, and is eviscerated by an imposing howling man. David Arquette escapes with his life, but ends up leading the tribe of violent natives to the small town of Bright Hope.
Here we meet an impressive cast of characters: Kurt Russell is the sheriff, Richard Jenkins is his elderly Civil War veteran deputy, Fred Malamed is the local barkeep, Patrick Wilson is a builder with a broken leg, Lili Simmons is his doctor wife, and Matthew Fox is an educated and wealthy man who is passing through town and gets caught up in the fun. After the natives abduct David Arquette, Lili Simmons, and another deputy from town, the local Native professor reveals that the tribe that took them has no name and live in the hills as troglodytic cannibals. With no choice, and no other help to access, Sheriff Kurt Russell forms a posse of Jenkins, Wilson, and Fox to set out and find them.
This all sounds tremendously exciting I know, but the next 70 minutes of the film is just traveling through the frontier scrubland to their destination. There are some interesting scenes, some beautiful landscapes, and the challenges the characters face become more and more dire, but it's still just a lot of walking through the wilderness.
The third act tries to makes up for it, though, as our heroes come face to face with the brutally violent tribe of monster-men. It's a bloody mess, and the ending is quite satisfying. I just wish that Zahler spent more time in the editing bay and cut it down to 100 minutes or so. It would have been a tighter narrative, and would probably work more as a horror film. Imagine if From Dusk Til Dawn was over two hours long, and that's pretty much Bone Tomahawk.
It's cool that Zahler was able to put something like this (with a cast this impressive) together for under $2 million, but it's not nearly as good as I was hoping or expected based on reviews I've read. To be fair, I probably would have enjoyed it more outside of October.
Summary:
I don't have a ton to say about Bone Tomahawk that you couldn't get from a trailer. It doesn't blaze new trails in horror, and probably won't get into my regular Spooktober rotation. But it's a solid, if not particularly memorable, Western. , Kurt Russell, and/or brutal violence, it could be worth your time. The best part: it's free to stream on Amazon Prime.
No comments:
Post a Comment