Review: Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk (18)

USA 2015 132 mins Dir: S. Craig Zahler Cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox, Lili Simmons

As a genre, the western has been through more deaths and resurrections than most, from the early John Wayne classics to Sergio Leone’s revolutionary Spaghetti stylistics of the 1960s to recent genre inversions like There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men. Yet movies that blend western and horror are a relative rarity, surprising given that both genres have been a cornerstone of cinema since its inception; sure there have been occasional gems like Richard Stanley’s Dust Devil but this goldmine has never really been tapped to its fullest potential.

Enter Bone Tomahawk, which rides into town a genuinely gripping, if somewhat awkwardly structured, blend of horse opera and cannibalistic splatter pic. Confidently directed by debut filmmaker S. Craig Zahler, the movie nails its colours to the mask in a brutal, attention-grabbing opening sequence where two throat-slitting bandits (one played by Scream veteran David Arquette) wander into a canyon and are promptly set upon by something truly nasty.

The source of the threat remains off-screen for the most part, Zahler expertly building tension as small-town Sheriff Hunt (Kurt Russell, boasting impressive facial foliage) is forced to contend with a mysterious triple disappearance from the local jail, as well as a murder and the theft of several horses. With doctor Samantha (Lili Simmons), Hunt’s deputy and the jail’s newest incumbent all missing, the only evidence is an arrow pointing to the presence of Native Americans.

But as a local guide warns, the arrow belongs to something far worse than a warmongering Indian tribe, prompting Hunt to lead a rescue party comprising his elderly second-in-command Chicory (Richard Jenkins), Samantha’s crippled husband Arthur (Patrick Wilson) and mysterious, dapper Brooder (Matthew Fox) who claims to have killed more ‘injuns’ than anyone. What they ultimately find once they’ve ventured into the arid desert will test their physical and mental endurance to the limit.

Given Bone Tomahawk was fashioned on a measly $1.8m budget it looks and sounds an absolute treat, richly resplendent in detail from the creaking of the saddle leather to the eerily desolate wind blowing through the sagebrush. Zahler is clearly a genre fan and it shows, a director who invests us emotionally in this disparate band of characters as they ride out to confront possible doom. The performances are superb from Russell’s upstanding leader (a complete turnaround from his devious Hateful Eight role) to an unrecognisable Jenkins as the doddering yet resourceful Chicory. Most surprising of all is Lost actor Fox: poised and confident as the watchful Brooder, he looks every inch the 19th century gunslinger and is by far the most compelling presence.

Zahler proves a master of the slow build; in fact, it’s surprising and oddly exhilarating to note how relatively low-wattage the vast majority of the movie is. By the time the threat is reached the film’s sense of verisimilitude helps us feel as saddle-sore as the characters themselves, the suspense ratcheting up in agonising fashion and then breaking into thunderous terror as the origins of a mysterious wailing sound surrounding the men are suddenly made chillingly clear.

In fact, the movie’s more horrific elements are probably the least well integrated aspect of the narrative; when the story is immersing us in familiar western trappings and alluding to those age-old genre themes of civilisation vs. savagery, it’s confidently gripping. Once the more lurid material is confronted head on it suddenly feels both underdeveloped and out-of-place, erupting into savage gore that’s somewhat less engrossing than the earlier character build-up, although Zahler’s shock tactics are at least memorably horrifying.

Nevertheless, when there’s this much captivating attention to detail in the costumes, visuals and performances it’s a ride well worth saddling up for, one confirming Zahler as an exciting talent to watch. And ironically enough for such a nihilistic movie, it leaves one profoundly optimistic about where the western is destined to ride in the future.