Bone Tomahawk just might be one of those movies that you least expect it to be this good for an average movie, its kinda weird but on this Western movie drama counts a lot because lets face it, there was not much to back then or where to go, this thing starts off as what seems like your typical western with Kurt Russell doing his usual sheriff thing but then turns into something completely different halfway. What caught me totally off guard was how much this movie made me laugh during the first hour, I mean Richard Jenkins as Chicory is absolutely hilarious as this bumbling deputy who just wont shut up about the most random stuff he could think about, he keeps asking questions like whether you can read a book in the bathtub while they are on this serious rescue mission to save those kidnapped, its the kind of humor that feels so natural you almost forget you are watching a "horror" western hybrid until things get really brutal later on, honestly there wasnt that much horror in the traditional way, very mixed movie tbh. Kurt Russell brings that classic energy to his role as Sheriff Hunt, he has got this weathered cowboy thing down perfect and you can tell he really loves playing these types of characters even though he could probably do it in his sleep by now. Patrick Wilson plays Arthur who is basically a guy with a busted leg trying to rescue his wife from cannibals, which sounds ridiculous when you put it that way but Wilson makes it work through pure determination and desperation. John Brooder plays Matthew Fox a man with pure hate to the native that decided to be on this mission just for the pleasure, hate and opportunity to kill indias, but the reasons are more deepest. The whole cast really seems to be having a blast, you can sense they know they are in something special even if its gonna be a tough sell to mainstream audiences because of how weird it gets.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2494362/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Rottentomatoes Rating
The movie takes its sweet time getting to the horror part of it, I can say its probably an hour just watching these four guys ride horses and camp out while going back and forth about everything from marriage to reading habits, some people might find this pacing slow but I thought it was brilliant because you actually start caring about these characters before the movie throws them into hell, it is called "character development" and when bad things happen to them later it actually matters instead of just being random violence for shock value. Matthew Fox shows up as this gunslinger who claims he has killed over a hundred Indians, I think the character could have been just another angry racist but Fox plays him with enough nuance that you understand his motivations even if you dont agree with them. The hole dialogue feels very authentic to the time period without being overly flowery or fake sounding, these guys talk like real people would have talked back then instead of reciting speeches about honor and duty, at least based on my impression and memory of how people were during that time, its all from what I have seen on TV nothing that I have study tbh. There is this great scene where they encounter two Mexican guys at night and Fox just shoots them both because he doesnt trust anyone approaching their camp in the darkness, it shows how paranoid and violent these guys have become living on the frontier. The movie does a good job of showing how isolation and constant danger can turn normal people into killers, even the sheriff who tries to be honorable ends up doing some pretty questionable things but all those things are not judge and it is because was the way of living back then, always with a gun on the hip and yours eyes everywhere, just wild.
The difference with this movie from other westerns is that it make you think that it could be a supernatural event that is happening but the truth is so much worst because after one person is kidnapped is revealed that has nothing to do with ghost or witches, they are humans, who have basically downgrade themselve mentally into something primitive and savage through isolation and inbreeding. Its basically the result of they spliting off from regular Native American tribes long ago and became something else entirely, they dont even have a language anymore just these weird growling sounds they make through surgically implanted devices in their throats. With all that set, I felt happy for the twist the movie gave since its unique and also give the hint that the rescue mission is going to be bloody because the kidnappers, yes are cannibal but can die. When we finally see their cave society its absolutely nightmarish, they keep women as breeding stock after cutting off their limbs and taking out their eyes so they cant escape, pure evil, BIG WTF moment there. The violence in this movie is not fun or exciting like in most action movies, its brutal and realistic in a way that makes you uncomfortable instead of entertained. There is one particular death scene that had me covering my eyes even though I usually dont have problems with gory movies, the sound during that sequence is just perfect in the worst possible way. The movie doesnt stop on the violence for shock value but it also doesnt shy away from showing you exactly how horrible these creatures are, they eat people like we would eat chicken and think nothing of it, without remorse and consciousness, this savages only have pleasure in killing, nothing else.
The ending was exactly what you would expect from this kind of revenge story but it never feels predictable because of how well developed all the characters are, you genuinely worry about who is going to survive until the very last scene. Arthur somehow manages to be the hero despite being basically crippled throughout most of the movie but I guess has to be his determination to save his wife what drives him to do things that should be impossible for someone in his condition. The final fight in the cave is intense as hell, watching these civilized men try to fight against primitive savages in their own environment creates this great David versus Goliath dynamic. Kurt Russell gets to be a badass one more time before his character meets his fate, the guy goes out fighting like you would expect from any Kurt Russell character. What impressed me most about the ending is how the movie don't treat them like heroes, just give importance to each one of them because never give up in complete the task of rescue Arthur wife, some of them suffer in horrible ways but fight agains the enemy until the end, never regrets in one stays and wich one return home, their objective was completed and more than that because the savages where killed giving peace to one that stays. You can really suffer when they start dying but at the same time feel relief knowing that they fight againts the unknown and in certain way they win.
These is the kind of movie that is a totally surprise and as everything you love it or hate it. Four men in a rescue mission knowing that they are going to fight against the most violent native tribe that exist and the worst of all, cannibals. The person that must be rescue is the wife of one of them, that is the cripple of the team, the one that is delaying them but the one with the courage of doing everything to get his wife back. This movie really impressed me in a good way because reminds me the way how movie used to be done, no CGI, a lot of practical effects, a good story, a great dialogue and actors that play the role like if they were born for it. The true is that Im not a huge fan of western movies, decide to give a chance to this one obviously knowing that wasnt the tippically western movie and doesnt dissapoint on the contrary, it gave me action, comedy, horror and passion, THIS is a good movie but if you dont like western or gore this is not for you.
Know looking back at this movie as I said before it is not for everyone but if you enjoy slow burn westerns with horror elements thrown in you will probably love it, reason why I only gave it a 7 out of 10, I feel that the movie just suits me too well and I know not everyone is going to enjoy it as I did, in fact some of the horror scenes were not so pleasent to watch to be honest. The pacing might test your patience during the middle section where they are just riding across the desert talking to each other but stick with it because the payoff is worth the wait. Its got real characters with believable motivations instead of just action figures going through lines between fight scenes. The budget was tiny but you would never know it from watching, everything from the costumes to the locations feels authentic and lived in rather than cheap or fake looking.
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