08-10-2020, 04:31 PM
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
At over 2-hours, this Western/Horror hybrid twist on John Ford's 'The Searchers' has some pacing problems. It needed a classic three-act, 90-minute structure, 30-mins to introduce the characters and get the posse rolling, 30-mins on the road, 30-mins at the destination. Instead there is a prologue that deflates the impact of the end (and overshadows everything leading up to it), about 75-minutes of character setup/development and then a wam-bam last act. Fortunately the character stuff is so good it nearly overcomes these problems. Lots of grizzled, grouchy cowboys mumbling wonderfully fruity dialogue of the "reconnoiter that inhospitable locale over yonder, if it please you kindly" sort, instead of just "look over there". The performances are also fantastic, lead by perfectly cast Kurt Russell. Director S. Craig Zahler fills up the rest of the cast with well known character actor faces from 80s/90s genre/horror/sci-fi like Sid Haig, David Arquette, Richard Jenkins, Fred Melamed and James Tolkan in small impactful roles. I bet they thought "who can we get that won't cost too much but who people will recognize and who will fill up the screen with their personalities?". It only cost $1.8m which sometimes shows in the overall look and limited locations. It's unbelievably violent at points and isn't your typical Western, blending genres together, so it might not be for everybody.
At over 2-hours, this Western/Horror hybrid twist on John Ford's 'The Searchers' has some pacing problems. It needed a classic three-act, 90-minute structure, 30-mins to introduce the characters and get the posse rolling, 30-mins on the road, 30-mins at the destination. Instead there is a prologue that deflates the impact of the end (and overshadows everything leading up to it), about 75-minutes of character setup/development and then a wam-bam last act. Fortunately the character stuff is so good it nearly overcomes these problems. Lots of grizzled, grouchy cowboys mumbling wonderfully fruity dialogue of the "reconnoiter that inhospitable locale over yonder, if it please you kindly" sort, instead of just "look over there". The performances are also fantastic, lead by perfectly cast Kurt Russell. Director S. Craig Zahler fills up the rest of the cast with well known character actor faces from 80s/90s genre/horror/sci-fi like Sid Haig, David Arquette, Richard Jenkins, Fred Melamed and James Tolkan in small impactful roles. I bet they thought "who can we get that won't cost too much but who people will recognize and who will fill up the screen with their personalities?". It only cost $1.8m which sometimes shows in the overall look and limited locations. It's unbelievably violent at points and isn't your typical Western, blending genres together, so it might not be for everybody.
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