Bone Tomahawk: Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD this week is the one of two recent westerns starring Kurt Russell. Sure, there is a lot of much deserved hype around Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight”, but the smaller budgeted and less well known “Bone Tomahawk” is definitely worth checking out. We were lucky enough to close out the Popcorn Frights Film Festival this year with the Florida premiere of “Bone Tomahawk”, which was written and directed by Miami’s own S. Craig Zahler. If you like westerns with a great cast and you like graphic films with cannibals, then this is the movie for you.
Set in the old west, four men set out to rescue a group of captives from cannibalistic cave dwellers. One of the captive is Samantha (Lili Simmons), the wife of Arthur (Patrick Wilson). Although Arthur broke his leg in an accident, he rides along with Sheriff Hunt (Russell), his senior deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins) and the “shoot first, ask later”, Brooder (Matthew Fox). Although the subject matter in “Bone Tomahawk” may have it sound like a horror-western, it is far more than that. This is a slow burn, more about the men on their quest, than anything else and that is a good thing, because the dialogue by Zahler is fantastic. Jenkins gets a large chunk of the best material and he also gives one of his best performances (which is saying something). It isn’t until the final act where things get pretty graphic. Once our group finally run into the cannibals, get ready to see some awesome carnage.
“Bone Tomahawk” was produced for around one million dollars which is such a tiny amount for such a well made film with a solid cast. If there is a weak element, that would be the casting of Lili Simmons, thankfully her role is quite small and because everything else is so good, it is easy to overlook. Genre fans will absolutely love some of the familiar faces that pop up though the film, like David Arquette, Sid Haig, James Tolkan, Michael Paré, Sean Young, and Jamison Newlander
I am a huge fan of Kurt Russell, especially when he is playing a gun slinger in the west. “Tombstone” is a classic. “The Hateful Eight” is another great Tarantino effort, but “Bone Tomahawk” is that hidden gem which needs to be discovered by a wider audience.
By: Marc Ferman