Western Wednesdays: Bone Tomahawk (2015)

       Bone Tomahawk was released on December 10th, 2015. It is written and directed by S. Craig Zahler and stars Patrick Wilson, Kurt Russell, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins. In it two highway robbers anger a tribe of cannibals when they stumble onto their burial site. One of them, named Purvis (Davud Arquette), escapes to the town of Bright Hope where he is arrested by the sheriff (Russell) and his deputy (Jenkins). The cannibals follow Purvis to town and kidnap him and Samantha, the local doctor's assistant who is tending to Purvis. Sheriff Hunt sets out with his deputy, Samantha's husband Arthur (Wilson) and a dandy named John Brooder (Fox) to rescue the two prisoners.
     S. Craig Zahler is no stranger to the western genre, having penned his first novel, A Congregation of Jackals in 2010 which he followed with Wraiths of the Broken Land in 2013. He really knows how to write hard-boiled western dialogue. Many lines have a subversive twist. In one scene Brooder kills some Mexican bandits in cold blood leading Chicory to proclaims, "Mr. Brooder just educated two Mexicans on the meaning of manifest destiny." The script gets, perhaps, a little too sardonic in a few places but overall it's really great.

     Zahler also knows how to direct a western. This was his directorial debut and it's a really strong one. He's not afraid to use longer takes and Bone Tomahawk is a deliberately paced film as a result. There's a strange elegance to this picture that is all but unknown in mainstream modern cinema. In one early scene the camera lingers as Brooder hesitates at the exit of the bar fiddling with his hat before leaving. There's no real reason to pad the scene out this way, it's just there for tone and pacing. Zahler holds back on the more grisly elements of the film until the last act where the cannibals are finally revealed in all there bone crunching glory. Up to that it's a fairly restrained piece of survivalist horror, with the band's situation growing increasingly desperate as the film goes on. Benji Bakshi's cinematography is also wonderfully restrained. Utilizing a mix of handheld and stationary camerawork and a harsh, gray color palette he imbues the film with a grim, gritty, down-to-earth tone.

     The cast is quite strong as well. Patrick Wilson has now made a career of playing upright traditional heroes who are none-the-less relatable and down to earth. He excels at playing the fiercely determined Arthur O'Dwyer, who turns out to be the film's unlikely hero despite his busted leg. Kurt Russell is also his usual, dependable self. It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of the pragmatic yet morally sensitive sheriff. Richard Jenkins one the other hand is cast against type. Unlike the hard-nosed authoritarian figures Jenkins usually portrays, Deputy Chicory is a humble, sensitive old man with a deep sense of loyalty to his departed wife and a penchant for constantly engaging in idle chatter. Finally, Matthew Fox puts in a solid performance as the hateful, cynical gunslinger John Brooder. His chemistry with Jenkins, in particular, is really great.

     Bone Tomahawk is a really unique western horror film. S. Craig Zahler's brilliant screenplay is bolstered by strong lead performances and his restrained direction is a welcome breath of fresh air in a world dominated by horror films like Evil Dead and The Purge. As a directorial debut you could do a lot worse.

Score: 9/10