Review: Bone Tomahawk

15th February 2016

The western is still rather popular first Hateful Eight and now Bone Tomahawk. This is the type of film destined to become a cult classic as it takes all the essential parts of the western genre and has a bit of fun with them and even throws in a few zombies in for good measure. Yes, zombies! So in fact it doesn’t matter whether you are good or bad in Bone Tomahawk you just want to make sure you don’t get eaten.

What are the basic elements that make a good western? It is usually set in the untamed, ungoverned wild west where the good guys wear white hats and defeat the bad guys in black hats and as a consequence the untamed west becomes civilised. However in Bone Tomahawk directed by Craig S Zahler, he throws a spanner in the works. We have all those elements however there are a spectrum of bad guys: the petty thieves who kill the unsuspecting and rob them right through to zombies. Say what? Yes, zombie like cave dwellers who aren’t Native Americans but some other race. The glorious aspect of the film is that it works because Zahler respects the western genre and doesn’t stray so far that it becomes ridiculous.

The opening scene is a mixture of gore, razor sharp dialogue and excellent sound effects. We learn that there are reputedly 16 major veins in the neck and it important that you cut through all of them otherwise your “dead” victim might well shoot you. That shot awakens the zombies that we catch a brief glimpse of. The story then jumps forward 11 days and we arrive at the town of Bright Hope – already governed and kept in order by Sheriff Hunt (played with deadpan humour by Kurt Russell supported by his second deputy Chicory (the constantly excellent Richard Jenkins). We meet the broken cowboy, quite literally with a broken leg, Arthur (Patrick Wilson) married to Samatha (Lili Simmons) and the very vain and very machiavellian Brooder (on good form Matthew Fox).When Arthur’s wife as well as the prisoner and Deputy Nick (Evan Jonigkeit) are taken by the zombies the four set out to rescue them.

Bone Tomahawk is gory and what befalls Deputy Nick (Evan Jonigkeit) at the hands of the zombies will haunt you for a few days afterwards. However, gore aside the humour’s wonderfully thick and dark like molasses will have you chuckling throughout. The characters are well drawn including the female character which is a welcome trend in modern westerns.

This film reminds me of The Big Lebowski. It is the type of the film that may not do well at the cinema but later goes on to become a cult classic. Even for those of you who aren’t a huge fan of westerns this feels fresh and different.

Bone Tomahawk opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday 19 February.

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