[7]
Writer/director S. Craig Zahler presents a western horror film about a small town sheriff (Kurt Russell) who leads three other men in search of two townspeople who were kidnapped in the middle of the night. The kidnappers aren’t just anyone, though — they’re a monstrous, inbred tribe of cave-dwelling Native Americans who eat their captives.
Bone Tomahawk runs a little long at two hours and twelve minutes, but once the men embark on their rescue mission the film moves nicely and gets more riveting as it goes. The final forty minutes or so descend into pure horror, when the cannibals gain the upper hand, leaving it up to a man with a broken leg (Patrick Wilson) to save the day. Not everyone survives, and the deaths in this film are incredibly cringe-inducing. Russell and Wilson deliver solid performances as expected, but Richard Jenkins shines perhaps the brightest as Russell’s older ‘backup sheriff’. These characters recreate a welcome, Howard Hawks-like camaraderie that gives dramatic heft to what could have been a straight-forward genre movie.
While Bone Tomahawk becomes a surprisingly good thriller in its second half, it takes a little too long to get going. The first hour should be twenty minutes shorter, and one lead role is miscast. Matthew Fox (Lost) is not convincing as the fourth member of the rescue party, a brash gunslinger who clashes with his fellow travelers. Small roles are filled by notable actors of yesteryear. Sid Haig and James Tolkan make the most of their limited screen time. David Arquette, Sean Young, Michael Pare, and Jamison Newlander feel like unnecessary ‘stunt’ casting by comparison. Zahler’s decision to give the entire movie a sepia toned look clashes with the film’s digital, non-filmic aesthetic. All gripes aside, though, Bone Tomahawk will reward viewers who stick with it — whether you’re looking for good old-fashioned western male bonding, or some of the best new monsters that horror has to offer.
With Lili Simmons, Evan Jonigkeit, and Fred Melamed.