Is Bone Tomahawk any good? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I'm thinking of buying the BD of Bone Tomahawk. Has anybody viewed this film and what are your thoughts on it?

 

[Quentin]

It's free on Amazon Prime, Robert. I'm not a huge fan of the film, but I think it's worth watching absolutely. It's a well-made film for a first time director and has a very "authentic old west" feel to it.


And, Richard Jenkins is worth the watch alone, IMO. If you're a fan of westerns or of Russell, it helps. I'm both, but I still find the film hard to recommend. It's overlong and it wanders. But, I did enjoy it somewhat - again, Jenkins is worth the price of admission (free!) for sure.

 

[Bryan^H]

I thought it was pretty good. Kurt Russell was good, and Matthew Fox(Lost) was decent also. I'm a Sid Haig fan, so it was cool to see him in it.

The female lead(Lilli Simmons)I thought was miscast. She was pretty, but poor at conveying any type of real emotion. So that was the only real issue I had with it.

I liked it overall and for an independent film It was impressive.

The Blu Ray is $15, and I will most likely pick it up. Certainly worth a rental.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Loved it, much more than The Hateful Eight. Looking forward to seeing it again. But mileage will vary.

 

[Malcolm R]

It seems to be at or near the top of many "Best Horror of 2015" lists.

 

[Bryan^H]

It seems to be at or near the top of many "Best Horror of 2015" lists.

Absolutely. I didn't even think of it that way until you mentioned it. It is actually a horror movie wrapped as a Western.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I like the fact that the filmmakers did exactly what they wanted to do and made the film they wanted to make.The film is unrated and I don't think they bothered submitting it to the ratings board because they did not want to change anything just to get an R rating on it.


In some ways I felt sort of like the film was influenced by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian...which hopefully someday will get the feature film treatment...in the way the characters set out on what will be a bloody and horrible journey and how the old west is a fairly unforgiving and nasty place.


For the first two thirds of the picture it looks and feels like just a beautifully shot, well written, and wonderfully acted traditional western. In the final third it becomes something else but according to the director he was making a "western" and not a "horror" film. I like the way it makes the transition though and I did not find the shift in tone jarring. I liked how it sort of builds up to something with a fairly overwhelming sense of doom and then pays off that build up in the final third...I mean really I don't think you know what to expect and I really enjoy that feeling when watching a film.


The actors are excellent with particular nods to Russell and Jenkins but I thought they all held their own. I also found the lack of music in the film a good idea as well. We just sort of listen to the sounds of the old west...not in as conducted a way as in a Leone film but the fact that there is no dramatic music playing in an attempt to build things up makes things all the more gripping I thought.


Basically, I was impressed with the way the director approached this film and it is pretty obvious he had some very specific ideas on how to make it and executed them in a very effective manner. I recommend the film and it did make my list of ten favorites from the year...but I am a sucker for Westerns and war films and films that take unexpected turns so this one was certainly in my wheelhouse.

 

[disctrip]

Worth a rental, but I would'nt buy it for my collection.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, what did you decide, Robert?

 

[dpippel]

Caught this last night and I have to say that for me it's just a mean, nasty film with quite a few lapses in logic that strained credulity. While I thought Russell and Wilson were good in their roles I would never watch the film again. I would say this - if you're easily shocked by excessive, gory violence you'd best stay very far away from Bone Tomahawk.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

If they ever make Blood Meridian into a film, Doug, you should probably avoid it like the plague. I'm not a fan of gore fests and really for the first two thirds of this one I don't think there is anything that would shock or disturb most of the current film audience. It does take that sort of "matter of fact" approach to cruelty and nastiness in the old West but that's what kind of made me feel the guy that made it had read Cormac McCarthy.

 

[dpippel]

Yeah, the first two thirds of the film are fairly safe territory. It's the concluding third that tainted the entire experience for me and it is certainly NOT for the squeamish. I also found the lapses in logic and sloppy film making mistakes took me out of the movie on several occasions once the "road trip" started.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I do think the final third of the film is what will determine how people feel about it. I think some will find it a crazed left turn that leaves them wondering what the hell just happened. Personally, that worked for me.

In terms of logic and sloppy filmmaking I think people will question that final third and logic seems not to apply...it is certainly more about

Spoiler

shock value and pure visceral impact.

For a low budget western from a first time filmmaker from an original screenplay of his own...I thought he did a pretty fine job.

 

[dpippel]

I'm not talking about the execution of the third act. Here are examples of what I took issue with:

Spoiler

* The group is in unknown territory tracking down a tribe so twisted and violent that even the Native Americans in the area are deathly afraid of them, yet they build huge campfires at night even though Russell, Wilson, and Fox are supposed to be experienced frontiersmen. Then they allow themselves to be ambushed and their horses stolen AFTER shooting the two Mexicans who approached their camp and moving to a new, dark location. No one stood watch? Unbelievable.


* The group practically walks right up to the front of the Troglodyte cave with minimal scrub for cover and act like they won't be seen. Again, not something an experienced tracker or frontiersman would even consider doing.


* Around the Troglodyte cave there is quite a bit of shooting by the group that generates no attention from the baddies at all.


* Even after Wilson states "There's nothing west of here" when they stop at the watering hole, five minutes later there's a shot of them riding through a field with easily visible signs of having been mowed. There are also several shots of the terrain close to the cave and of the group when they're down in the dry wash where either roads or vehicle tracks are visible in the frame. This lack of attention to detail is what prompted my sloppy film making comment.

 

[benbess]

I thought Bone Tomahawk was very good. I thought Richard Jenkins as Chicory was very funny!++

 

[Keith Cobby]

I watched the blu-ray today. It's a small budget western, well made and very well acted by the leads. The main story we have all seen before on better films. The difference with this one is the horror ending which is really the USP for the film. This is the reason that, for me at least, it isn't a repeater.

It reminded me a bit of The Professionals (1966).

One thing I had a problem with was why, when they moved their camp, they failed to put the perimeter back.

 

[John Sparks]

I really liked it (along with "The Burrowers) and it has a place in my sci-fi/horror film library!

 

[Ruz-El]

I loved it. that said I would of cut the intro and started the film after the opening titles. Would of boosted it. Too many films/books/comics/ etc want a big bang opening when they don't need it. try it next time you watch it.

(Opening bit is awesome, could of been told in flashback later.)

 

[Race Bannon]

I'm a fan of Kurt Russell, and western films, but I did not like it. It is an incredibly dark and nihilistic movie, without much of a spark to connect with me. Brutal, not just in the most horrific scenes, but in the journey before, etc.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I loved it!