Movie Review - Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, and David Arquette

Directed by S. Craig Zahler

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

There aren't many western/horror/comedy mash-ups floating around, but Bone Tomahawk would probably fall into that amalgamated category.  When his wife (Lili Simmons), a young deputy sheriff, and a prisoner are kidnapped by a mysterious Native American tribe, Arthur (Patrick Wilson), the town sheriff (Kurt Russell), another deputy (Richard Jenkins), and a rich cowboy (Matthew Fox) set out to find them and bring them back to their small Western town safely.  Little does the quartet realize that they're about to meet face to face with a group of gruesome cannibals with no respect for Americanized society.

Although the film runs a bit too long and falls into the typical trap of the western genre with a whole lot of nothing happening for long periods of time, debut director S. Craig Zahler (who also wrote the flick) has crafted a quirky flick full of humorous dialog spouted by surprisingly detailed characters.  The cast gamely acts out the witty repartee with Kurt Russell, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox, and Patrick Wilson all playing nicely off one another as they trek across arid, barren landscapes.   Oftentimes, films that attempt to blend genres fail to adequately balance all aspects, but Zahler rather surprisingly is able to marry horror and western and comedy.  Quite frankly, it's a bit shocking that as the film veers into the horror category towards its finale, it feels like a natural fit and that's certainly a credit to Zahler.

Bone Tomahawk isn't a perfect film, but considering it's in the western genre which I typically detest, it's much more enjoyable than I could've ever anticipated.  Sure, it's a bit of a cult-type piece that isn't going to be for everyone's tastes, but it worked enough for me to recommend it.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-