Review: Bone Tomahawk

Westerns don't come around as often as they used to. But when they do, it is usually quite an enjoyable experience. The most recent ones I can remember that was well praised by the critics were The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained and 3:10 To Yuma.

The trailer for this really spooked me, and had my attention as it seemed to have an interesting horror angle to it.

The first half is a slow burner, but still intriguing enough to keep me interested. It gave us time to find out about the characters. It was also nice to see Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and David Arquette back on the big screen.
One guy who was completely unrecognisable was Richard Jenkins.
Then the second half turns its attention to the horror part of this film. The last 50 minutes are pretty tense, disturbing and highly gruesome that made my jaw drop. It suddenly turns into something similar to two famous horror films that I like.

This definitely won't be to everyone's taste. But I think if you can get through the first half, then you can at least the tense and thrilling finale. The movie as a whole was pretty solid and I think the refreshing look will give it that extra edge over many other new releases.
The writing is developed well with enough character development is keep us invested. The horror segments are particularly un-nerving especially one scene that is one of the most gruesome I have ever seen.

The performances were not exceptional, but certainly not terrible. Kurt Russell gives us a fine lead and kept goes engaged in this odd premise. Wilson keeps reminding us what an under-rated talent he is and Fox gave us an interesting character. I certainly hope Fox is in more movies in the future. Lili Simmons who played one of the few female roles felt misplaced for most of her screen-time. Her reactions in the disturbing second half did not seem to work for me. It did not seem believable in relation to what was going on screen. But thankfully, that is only a minor flaw.

Despite having to be patient in the first half, I say this was a pretty original take on a genre that seemed to be all but done. The director S. Craig Zahler gave the film a welcoming unpredictability throughout and I hope he gets more opportunities in the future.

I can safely say that this is the best 'western-horror' I have ever seen. There might not be many of these types of films out there, but it is still the best one I have seen.
The production is a huge strong point as are costumes. The connection between the characters was pretty solid. It is great to see Kurt Russell come back regularly to our screen. He seems to have done this and The Hateful Eight back-to-back as he has kept his impressive moustache. The landscapes chosen are quite good to look at. One thing I should mention was a nice use of practical effects during the final act.

If you can get through the first half, then you can enjoy the movies pay off which an unpredictable second half that turned the film on its head.

Rating: 7/10