BONE TOMAHAWK 2015, dir. S. Craig Zahler
There aren’t a lot of contemporary actors that are perfect for westerns, but Kurt Russell is one of those actors.
It’s not that he’s been in that many; I’m pretty sure TOMBSTONE and a few TV series from the ‘60s and ‘70s (including THE QUEST with Tim Matheson) are the only times to date where Kurt has played an inhabitant of the old west (though that’s obviously about to change). It’s his demeanor, his machismo, his stature, his attitude, and of course, his killer John Wayne impression that make him an ideal fit for that time and place in America’s history, and his performance/direction on TOMBSTONE has helped keep that film on my list of top 5 westerns since I saw it as a kid. So “Kurt Russell western” was all I needed to know going into this film, and lucky for me, this one gave me that and plenty more to chomp into (no pun intended) and enjoy.
BONE TOMAHAWK arguably revolves around Patrick Wilson’s Arthur O’Dwyer, a cowboy holed up with his nurse wife, Samantha, in the town of Bright Hope as he waits for his broken leg to heal. A shady drifter (David Arquette) rolls into town and, after an altercation with the local sheriff (Mr. Russell), takes a bullet, requiring the assistance of Mrs. O’Dwyer. The following morning, the sheriff is horrified to find the drifter, Mrs. O’Dwyer, and the youthful Deputy Tom all missing. A local Native American clues them in on the possible culprit; a gang of inbred “troglodytes” who feed on human flesh in their cave about five days ride away from town. Sheriff Hunt and O’Dwyer, who are the only ones who “have to go,” are joined by a dandy-ish gunfighter (Matthew Fox) and Hunt’s aging “backup deputy” (Richard Jenkins), as they begin the arduous trek to the troglodytes’ cave where they hope to find Samantha, Deputy Tom, and maybe even the drifter still alive.
Some have overhyped the horror aspects of the film, which, admittedly, are extreme, but no worse than much of what is implied in similar old westerns like THE SEARCHERS. This is very much a frontier film, about a group of individuals who are struggling to survive in the old west, both literally (particularly the hobbled O’Dwyer) and figuratively; these are four men dealing with the unfortunate situation that has presented itself, and they struggle with their various personal issues while remaining steadfast and focused in their task. The largest chunk of the film has the foursome traversing the desert, avoiding enemy scouts and trying to keep their paranoia, fear, and hatred at bay.
And damn, did director S. Craig Zahler get a hell of a cast to spout his pulpy western dialogue. Aside from the four leads, you have welcome, enjoyable appearances by the likes of Arquette, Sean Young, Fred Melamed, Sid Haig, Kathryn Morris, “Principal Strickland” himself, James Tolkan, and even Frog Brother Jamison Newlander (as a humorously impotent mayor). Unsurprisingly, Russell bolsters down the film as the badass, Wyatt Earp-esque sheriff, keeping everyone else in line with the help of his uber-powerful manstache and Zahler’s terse, dime-novel (not an insult) dialogue. The other three principal roles are elevated by the actors portraying them. Patrick Wilson is one of the better guys around at making a pathetic, helpless white man not only likable, but heroic (if they ever do a live-action RICK AND MORTY movie, I hope they line him up for Jerry). Matthew Fox is appropriately cold and mannered as the Indian-killing Brooder, and while he doesn’t bring as much color as a showier actor might’ve, he brings a lovely sadness to the character’s quick-drawing emptiness. Richard Jenkins is near-unrecognizable in the Walter Huston role, the codgery, ostensibly alcoholic old-timer whose crotchety demeanor masks a deep sense of righteousness and loyalty. He and Russell have an excellent dynamic built on eye contact and complementary body language, leading up to a late moment between the two that nearly had me in tears.
The film was shot in 21 days on a very meager budget, and when it shows, it hurts the overall impact of the film. There are a handful of jarringly awkward cuts that reeked of a lack of coverage, and Bright Hope (where the entire first act is set) seems awful confined and brightly-painted for a late 19th-century mining town. But I have to give Zahler credit for taking that minuscule time frame and budget and making something that feels bigger than it ought to. All the action was done live and practically, and you feel the impact of each arrow shot, bullet hit, and stab wound. The desert locations and mountainscapes are gorgeous and well-shot by cinematographer Benji Bakshi, who also captures the numerous nighttime and cave scenes with a very precise, specific sense of detail. It doesn’t have the operatic grandeur of a Leone, but rather the flavor of an old-school backlot B-picture (again, not a knock), where things are a little too tense and moving too fast to linger on faces or backdrops.
And when the gore comes, oh boy, it’s rough. It’s not just the cannibalistic troglodytes that cause the bloodletting; there are surgeries, amputations, gunshot wounds, and one A+ decapitation courtesy of the weapon that gives the film its title. One death in particular was so unabashedly brutal and grotesque that the entire audience erupted in laughter and applause, even though it was a good guy that was getting it. I can see why folks were so quick to call this movie TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST meets THE SEARCHERS, even though it bears far more of a similarity to the latter than either of those horror classics; it may not be wall-to-wall with nasty shit, but what’s there digs under your skin and makes a big impression.
After getting a glimpse of the cast and hearing some of Zahler’s killer, deliberately stylized dialogue at the outset, I really wanted to fall in love with the film. And though I wish it was a bit more finessed, a little more deliberate, and just a bit bigger (*SPOILER* I don’t care if Zahler did it on purpose…if you introduce a stash of dynamite and you don’t blow that shit up, it seems more like a budget decision than a narrative one *END SPOILER*), it only falls slightly short of greatness. Though my wife said that she was occasionally bored by the film, particularly the elongated intro in Bright Hope, I was into it for the whole ride, hoping for the characters to succeed in their quest with as few casualties as possible. Russell, who explodes in a fury of gray-chested, righteous anger towards the end (which also inspired applause), and the rest of the cast elevate the material, and never let it feel like the low-budgeted, quickly-shot western that it is. I’m not sure this will eclipse RAVENOUS (which remains a hugely-entertaining oddity, despite it’s fabled production woes) in the cannibal-western genre, but it certainly deserves a spot at the table.
