Bone Tomahawk movie review & film summary (2015) | Roger Ebert (2024)

S. Craig Zahler’s debut genre-jumper “Bone Tomahawk” is asurprisingly sturdy Western—a piece with obvious nods to John Ford built arounda quartet of travelers on a rescue mission—until it takes a sharp left turn andbecomes something closer to horror. These kind of genre mash-ups rarely work,which makes the impact of “Bone Tomahawk” that much more impressive. In fact, it’sindicative of how little studios think of the Western that such a solid pieceof work with such a strong cast is being barely released in theaters, whilealso making its VOD release today. The once-thriving genre has become the stuffof independent cinema in films like “The Salvation,” “Slow West,” “The KeepingRoom,” and, now, Zahler’s debut. In terms of the overall quality of thisquartet of films, that may not be a bad thing. We could be in the middle of anindependent film Western renaissance.

“This is why frontierlife is so difficult. Not because of the Indians or the elements, but becauseof the idiots.” Like most Westerns, “Bone Tomahawk” hinges on a number ofquestionable decisions. The first comes when Sheriff Franklin Hunt (KurtRussell, sporting one of the best mustaches in the history of the genre) shootsa wanderer who calls himself Buddy (David Arquette) in the local saloon. Hunt’sDeputy Sheriff Chicory (Richard Jenkins) noted that Buddy had been actingsuspicious, and caught him burying some likely bushwhacked belongings under atree. Still, they can’t just let Buddy suffer, so a doctor named Samantha O’Dwyer(Lili Simmons) is called in to help, brought to the station by another travelernamed John Brooder (Matthew Fox). She notices Buddy has a fever, and volunteersto stay at the station to monitor his status, even though her husband Arthur(Patrick Wilson) protests.

That night, Samantha is kidnapped by a group of savages.Despite an injured leg that he’s looking more likely to lose to gangrene everyday, Arthur demands to be a part of the rescue mission for his wife. O’Dwyer,Hunt, Brooder, and Chicory hit the trail, and the majority of “Bone Tomahawk”consists of this vibrantly drawn quartet traveling across the barren landscape.Zahler, who also wrote the film, doesn’t overplay the archetypes, but allowseach character to have his own space. Perfect casting helps: Russell has theweathered confidence that someone like Sam Elliott has been exuding for decadesnow, Fox does his best film work in a long time as a man defiantly proud of howmany Indians he’s killed, Jenkins brings history to the kindly old man role and Wilson is convincing as a man who refuses to let his infirmity stop him.

While the casting agent deserves special citation forputting this posse together (bonus points for Sid Haig and Fred Melamed incameo roles), it’s Zahler’s confident screenwriting and direction that make itwork. His pacing can be a bit self-indulgent (the piece is way too longat 132 minutes), but much of the dialogue is witty without being forcefully so. We’veseen so many self-aware Westerns, films that sound written by film schoolstudents more than of the time. Zahler’s script is clever and tight, and hisdirection sturdy throughout, although some may be turned off by the intensityof the final act, which includes a man being scalped alive and literally tornin half.

Personally, I like that “Bone Tomahawk” is willing to getas intense as it does in the final act, not merely throwing around words like "savages" to describe a race of people, but actually presenting brutally violent, nearly supernatural cannibals as its villains. While the genre jump from John Ford to Eli Roth may be off-puttingto some, it raises the stakes on a climax in a way that most Westerns fail todo. Zahler and his talented cast are willing to take this journeydeep into the heart of darkness, and it’s their commitment that makes theentire project more than skin-deep.