A few years ago, S. Craig Zahler was unknown to any movie lover. But he built his career with short films and novels in the shadows.
Until one day Bone Tomahawk, a ruthlessly nasty western horror movie that goes out of the genre, was pulled out of the sleeve.
Then, out of nowhere, Zahler became a director idolized by moviegoers who saw in him a ray of hope in the middle of an industry drowned by unoriginal stories.
Bone Tomahawk has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. We challenge you to find a critic who doesn’t say anything good about the film.
This film has blown the head of many critics and audiences. If you have not yet seen it, it is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Free for all subscribers.
Bone Tomahawk is a film that appeals equally to fans of western and horror. But, at the same time, it is a recommendation for any movie lover wanting to enjoy something different from the ordinary.
But beware, here is the warning: if you decide to hit the ‘play,’ you must prepare your stomach for unpleasant scenes. To give you an idea, some of the critics speak of it as “macabre,” with elements of “ultraviolence” and “bloody.”
WHAT IS ‘BONE TOMAHAWK’ ABOUT?
It is set in the Texas-Mexico border area sometime in the nineteenth century.
After a series of disappearances, there are suspicions that a cannibal tribe is in the area. And Sheriff Hunt (Kurt Russell) decides to get to the bottom of the matter.
He is accompanied by cowboy Brooder (Matthew Fox) and Arthur (Patrick Wilson), whose wife is among the missing.
“Zahler’s film, very careful to the last detail, plays at will with heroic stereotypes. With the expectations of the spectator in a masterful manner, destroying the idea that the strongest survives, and delivering a survival western that creates its paradigm,” writes Xavi Sánchez Pons in his review for SensaCine.
“It ends with a final half-hour of gore and ultraviolent that turns gender upside down. A forceful, dry fight for survival questions Darwin’s theory of natural selection.”
S. Craig Zahler knocked down the door to the industry with a kick with Bone Tomahawk. Yet, his next productions have not had as much impact. They have ended up consolidating him as a director to be reckoned with.
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017) is an action thriller that should be considered. The Other Side of the Law (2018) is gloomy and slow but firm.
