S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk is a genre-bending Western with horror sensibilities, being one of the more unique films of the year. The story is centered around the small town of Bright Hope, who are forced into action, after a group of cannibals kidnap a few of the towns citizens. Led by Sheriff Franklin Hunt, an unlikely team of gunslingers head out into the barren landscape to hunt down the savages responsible, though they soon discover their enemy is even more ruthless than they could have ever imagined. The wild west is merely the setting for this genre mashup, but that doesn't mean the film doesn't go out of its way to create a believable, geniune old-west experience. Using cinematography and production design that authentically captures the look and feel of the wild west, at least as we've seen it in cinema, Bone Tomahawk captures the look and feel of the Western, an old-fashioned venner that is pleasant and immersive. The filmmakers affinity for the Western genre is felt in every frame, showing an appreciation for a simplier time where basic moral codes and community were a fundamental part of life and survival. A romanticism of Western civilization before the industrial age is perhaps the best way to describe this film, as Bone Tomahawk captures how a group of ragtag civilians, many of which couldn't be more different, work together in an effort to save one of their own. Bone Tomahawk's meandering qualities and unique genre blend probably will never appeal to the mainstream viewer's sensibilities for a more action-packed storyline, but S. Craig Zhaler's film features alluring characters, from the good-natured, no-nonsense sheriff played by Kurt Russell, to the morally-suspect, vain Brooder played brilliantly by Matthew Fox, each offering something unique to the story, having distinctive personalities and character traits that make the film engaging even with its meandering style. Much of the film takes place with this group attempting to track down these cannibal savages, and I'd argue Bone Tomahawk's most interesting aspect is the aura of community and sacrifice the film subtlety creates. These characters shouldn't get along, and don't really get along on a more superficial level, but they are binded by their sense of community, each understanding their petty differences mean very little in the larger sense of survival that can always be a struggle in the dangerous, wild west. When the violence does come, Bone Tomahawk is sure to please gorehounds, being very much in the vein of horror cinema, with a liberal use of bloodshed that is sure shock and awe in a few bone-chilling segments. Juxtaposing the simplicity, class, and moral sensibilities of the Western genre with the intensity and mood of a horror film, Bone Tomahawk is a solid first feature from S. Craig Zahler that should serve as a solid calling card for the filmmakers' talents.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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