Bone Tomahawk

Writer-director S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk is a surprisingly enjoyable genre mash-up—a cannibal Western that comes across like a period version of Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes, enriched by a strong cast and flavorful dialogue. The story begins with two bickering ne'er-do-wells stumbling onto an Indian burial ground and arousing its ravenous owners. One escapes to the town of Bright Hope, where he's arrested by the sheriff (Kurt Russell) and his jittery old deputy (Richard Jenkins). During the night, the prisoner, the town nurse (Lili Simmons), and another deputy are kidnapped by the cemetery's keepers, who turn out to be a group of inbred, flesh-eating cave-dwellers called Troglodytes. The sheriff then sets off with his deputy, the nurse's injured husband (Patrick Wilson), and an Indian-hating gunslinger (Matthew Fox) to rescue the abductees. Much of the film is devoted to their journey, which is marked by saucy conversation, with Jenkins in particular relishing his long, theatrical monologues. But the last act is one long bloodbath as the Troglodytes threaten both the captives and the posse with a fate worse than death. Bone Tomahawk tends to mosey during its protracted journey to the caves, but Zahler's writing is so amusingly over-the-top and deftly delivered that the film rarely drags. Of course, the shift to sheer horror at the close is rather jarring, but those in the mood for something different will likely appreciate this. Recommended. (F. Swietek)