Bone Tomahawk (2015) | Film Review

The western is a staple of Hollywood genres. For decades, people have argued for who their favorite cowboy was. But for the last 20 years or so, the “western” has been nearly forgotten. Maybe the proliferation of special effects-heavy movies has passed the genre, in a similar fashion as the locomotive surpassing the horse as the most efficient means of transportation across large distances.

“Bone Tomahawk” does not move at a pace equal to either means of transportation, but this slow burn of a western proves you don’t need high heat to cook up a delicious meal… which is probably not the best analogy when you’re talking about a movie with cannibals.

Kurt Russell is the sheriff of Bright Hope. A small frontier town in the wild west with its own small problems. However, when some citizens are kidnapped by some cave-dwelling cannibals, Sheriff Franklin Hunt  sets off in search of them. Assisted by his deputy Chicory, played wonderfully by Richard Jenkins; the gentlemanly John Brooder (Matthew Fox); and Arthur O’Dwyer (Patrick Wilson), the foursome travel across the frontier in search of their missing townsfolk.

The performances are what you would expect from most of the actors and Kurt Russell is the quintessential western lawman, as far as I’m concerned. He’s played a sheriff twice in about twenty years and nobody has come remotely close to his presence. But the actor who stole the show for me was Richard Jenkins’ performance as Chicory. The wry, almost-unintentional sense of humor he brings to this dusty “road trip” gives balance to the business-oriented Russell, the stodgy Fox, and the distraught Wilson. His portrayal had touches of Benicio del Toro’s performance in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…just without all the cocaine, LSD, and booze.

Craig Zahler’s directorial debut merges the frontier spirit with the mystery of a horrific evil unlike anything we’ve seen. In a day where most movies are cut in a quick pace, “Bone Tomahawk” keeps longer than average shots. It’s almost as if it’s playing with your mind because you’re expecting something else to happen, yet it doesn’t. In a way, it was almost refreshing as it drove home the slower pace of life in a frontier town during the late 1800’s. Kurt Russell may be the name to get people in the seats, but the cinematography and the tone are the real stars of this movie.

Overall, Bone Tomahawk is a good western that felt like a merging of “The Searchers” and “The Hills Have Eyes”. The determined nature of man is illuminated beautifully against a backdrop of death and dust. If the price of admission was $10, I would score this a $7.50. There’s an extra buck in there for some of the most ingenious and gruesome deaths I’ve seen to date.

As your trusted HO, it is my professional opinion that you watch this soon and help the revival of a genre that has miles of untapped land yet to be discovered.

Starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, Sean Young
Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler

Brian Williams
The Hollywood Outsider