2015 Directed by S. Craig Zahler
During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. One of the villagers takes care of him in prison. One day they both disappear – only the spear of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and his nurse.
Kurt Russell Patrick Wilson Matthew Fox Richard Jenkins Lili Simmons Evan Jonigkeit David Arquette Fred Melamed Sid Haig Maestro Harrell James Tolkan Kathryn Morris Zahn McClarnon Michael Emery Jeremy Tardy Michael Paré Sean Young Jamison Newlander Erick Chavarria Omar Leyva David Midthunder Raw Leiba Geno Segers Alex Meraz Robert Allen Mukes Brandon Molale Eddie Spears Jay Tavare
The Doctor has been kidnapped. Her husband, the injured Cowboy, is beyond grief. The Cowboy's best friend, the Gentleman, volunteers to go and bring her back. Who's leading the rescue? Well, that would be the Sheriff and the Deputy. Who kidnapped the Doctor? Let's say the kidnappers like to dress in white chalk, make funny sounding noises, shoot folks with bow and arrows, and eat dinner like they're Hannibal Lecter. Sounds yummy, right? From the opening shot, Bone Tomahawk, grabs you by the throat tight, and cuts your jugular. It's a western, with some elements of the supernatural, set in the 1890's. Led by an all star cast featuring the ageless Kurt Russell, the charming Richard Jenkins, the surprisingly awesome…
89/100
Showing this amazing film to people and eagerly awaiting and soaking up their reaction to THAT scene might be my current favorite past-time.
With 'Bone Tomahawk', S. Craig Zahler answers the question: 'How do you update the Italian Cannibal Cycle of Films for a contemporary audience?' by explicitly doing the opposite of that, acknowledging their ultimate debt to a previous cycle of films about the clash of imperial expansion and indigenous peoples, the 'Cowboy & Indian' film, and sensibly making a self-aware period piece out of this hybrid/not-hybrid genre apparatus set in (probably) the early 20th Century Western United States. This is not the only Kurt Russell Western in which he fights time-sensitive cannibal terror to free hostages (that would be 'Escape From ____'), but it is certainly the most awesome one made in the 21st Century. The way-excellent cast, including a truly incredible…
bone tomahawk isn’t forgiving. its brutal, dirty, cold, but at the same time it begs you to hope for these characters, even when everything seems lost. it gives you a sliver of light in the most godless moments and then breaks your heart, and then gives you light again. it’s everything it planned to be and never isn’t perfect.
89/100
Shrieks, moans, wails, and spurts of blood; all woven within an Artificial evocation of a savage world. A Western finally goes full on-Digital Michael Mann, and Bone Tomahawk, instead of reaching for a product of grand ambition, scales down into a work of formal beauty and foggy spaces. It's a film pattered with details, sounds, and silences after startling bursts of violence, but moment to moment, it's elegantly contemplative. Bells are only a warning for the gunshots that soon follow, and instead of lingering on a wounded horse, Zahler frames every character in a state of stoic respect. Mannequins in the Old West, soaking in their situation and trying not to lose each other in the mist.
It's undeniably…
67/100
Was initially alarmed by the 132-minute running time, but this is a film that revels in courtliness and digressions, in no hurry to arrive at its unexpectedly grisly destination. (To be fair, the very first shot is gruesome as hell, but it's easy to forget that 90 minutes later.) Zahler does reasonably well by the genre visually, given his budget, but flavorful Old West dialogue ("You been squirtin' lemon juice in my eye since I came in here"—this in response to Kurt Russell's priceless delivery of the line "You're pretty angry for a guy named Buddy") and amusing riffs on stock characters are the main attraction here—even Matthew Fox, playing a ruthlessly self-interested dandy, is a lot of fun,…
I won't deny that this was slow as all get-out, but I was never once bored. The lack of action and long run time means we spend a lot of time growing attached to the characters, and Zahler uses that to his advantage, packing an emotional punch as the film draws to a close. When I wasn't crying, I was busy laughing. A lot of those laughs come from the acknowledgement of how history and old Western movies treated Natives, and minorities in general, which is something this movie actively tried to avoid. At the beginning, I was afraid that Bone Tomahawk was going to be a stereotypical "Cowboys vs Indians" story, but I have to say that it pleasantly surprised me on all fronts.
Film 71/100:
Characters 13/20
Cinematography 11/15
Direction 9/15
Acting 11/15
Story 12/15
Music 7/10
Script 8/10
Dang this movie was good. Jack from Lost made so many Jack faces, and Kurt Russel did his Jeff Bridges thang. I especially liked the part where the civilized Native man wearing a suit specifically pointed out that the enemies weren't Indians, but Troglodytes. Can't be racist, now!
the best aspect of this film was the pacing. Each setting had time to grow on you just as each character had time to teach you who they were. I was so drawn in by the storytelling that I was actively worried for each character's well being. The dangers surrounding each characters are well established, leading to a very tense experience.
Besides some serious pacing issues, this film is really well made, and much better than S. Craig Zahler's newest work by a long shot.
The final act is honestly fantastic, and feels very rewarding after the sluggish middle portion of the film.
Definitely going to be thinking about THAT scene for quite some time.
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