When Stephen King talks, people listen.
Such is the case when he has political views on X, and such is also the case when he declares the worst horror movie he’s ever seen. But, wherever you stand on politics or bad horror flicks, that’s not what I want to talk about today. What I do want to talk about though is that the master of the macabre actually tweeted something that I unabashedly agree with, and that’s that the 2015 movie, Bone Tomahawk, is a “low-budget Western epic.”
In fact, this was King’s exact tweet:
BONE TOMAHAWK: I was expecting nothing but a time-passer on a rainy Wednesday morning, and got a low-budget Western epic. The dialogue alone makes it well worth watching. Beware the last act, when a man is literally torn apart.
I agree! So, why is Bone Tomahawk so amazing? Well, you’re about to find out. And oh, I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers just in case you want to watch one of the best western movies of all time for yourself.
It Both Does, And It Doesn’t Feel Like A Western
Just look at the promotional material and the still images for Bone Tomahawk, and your mind will instantly think, “Western!” And, well, I don’t blame you, as a Western is definitely what it appears to be.
I mean, just look at it. It has all of the hallmarks of a Western, as it stars Kurt Russell, who is no stranger to Westerns as he was wonderful throughout the Tombstone ending, and in one of the best Tarantino movies, The Hateful Eight, and there’s also a whole bunch of gun pointing and horse riding. So, it’s a traditional Western, right?
Right! But, well, also wrong, since it’s anything but traditional. Because beneath the surface, it’s also a legitimate horror flick. In fact, it’s even labeled as a Western horror movie, and it canoodles with other Western horror flicks like Ravenous, Westworld, and 2018’s The Wind.
Now, I wouldn’t call this one of the best horror movies of all time, but that’s only because it melds genres so well that it’s almost undefinable.
The plot concerns an indigenous tribe of cannibals, and a sheriff’s hunt to rescue the townsfolk who were captured by them. The sheriff is played by Russell, and he goes through hell just to find them.
So, I easily understand why Stephen King enjoyed it! The story doesn’t feel like most other Westerns, which sometimes tend to romanticize the past. Instead, Bone Tomahawk features an unforgiving and brutal American west.
There’s a sense of dread throughout the entire movie that actually makes me a little squeamish each time that I watch it. This is always the hallmark for me of a great horror movie. I have to feel something, be it visceral horror, or just overall foreboding, and Bone Tomahawk definitely does that for me.
I Genuinely Feel Scared For Kurt Russell’s Character For Pretty Much The Entire Movie
Sheriff Franklin Hunt is a good man. He does his job diligently, and I wouldn’t call him the kind of movie cop who willingly breaks the rules, such as William “Little Bill” Dagget Jr. in Unforgiven. Instead, he’s the kind of protector of the peace who will shoot a suspicious man in the leg rather than kill him in order to prevent him from escaping.
So, we like his character. We don’t want to see any harm done to him. We want to see him rescue those who have been absconded with by cannibals, and to go back home to his town.
But – and I won’t spoil anything for you here – his character is in peril throughout pretty much the entire movie. There’s never a moment where we feel like he’s safe, or that he won’t be murdered in cold blood. The moment he finds an arrow in his office, you get a sense that he might not make it out alive by the end.
Whether he does or not, I won’t tell you. But, I will say this – nobody is safe in this movie, no matter how much you like them.
Stephen King Is Right. The Dialogue Really Is Special
I’m a sucker for good dialogue, and I agree with King when he says that “the dialogue alone makes it well worth watching.” It’s just so natural-sounding, and smooth.
When Richard Jenkins’ character, Deputy Chicory, walks into Hunt’s office, Hunt is stirring stew, and the first thing Chicory says is that he was “out in the ramble,” only to then take a sniff and comment, “Oh, that tea smells gruesome,” to which Hunt says, “It’s soup.” Chicory replies, “Oh,” and then, “You…You think I could have some?”
The movie is just full of these moments of characters conversing with each other as if they aren’t living in the worst timeline. The film’s director, S. Craig Zahler, also wrote the screenplay, and he does a magnificent job of making all of these characters feel super alive and vulnerable.
I often think Western movies are buttressed by their sweeping vistas and larger than life characters, but Bone Tomahawk feels like a much smaller, more personal Western, and I think the dialogue is the reason for that. It’s just so good!
It’s Also So Gruesome!
I mentioned earlier how the film is labeled as a horror Western, but I don’t know if you really understand what I mean when I say that. I will clarify that Bone Tomahawk doesn’t pull a From Dusk till Dawn, where mid-way through the movie, it turns out that there are vampires or something.
Instead, the cannibals in this film are just truly horrific, where, as Stephen King says, “a man is literally torn apart” in the last act.
It’s not like this is displayed in any way that could be considered “cool.” This isn’t like one of the best samurai movies where somebody could use their blade to slice somebody in two, and blood gushes out like glorious fireworks. Instead, it’s displayed in such a sickening (and I would imagine realistic) way that I actually had to turn my head when I realized what was happening.
Now, while the rest of the movie isn’t as gruesome as that single scene, the majority of the film is bloody and distressing in all of the best sort of ways. The bloodshed makes you feel even more for these characters, who again, you don’t want to see die. It’s just another reason why this movie is the best.
In The End, It Feels Like A True Cult Classic
Finally, I just love how much of a cult classic Bone Tomahawk is. It’s the kind of film where even if you don’t like horror movies or Westerns, you might still like this movie for many of its other factors, such as the acting (I haven’t even talked about how good David Arquette, or Patrick Wilson are in this movie), or, as I mentioned earlier, the dialogue, which really shines.
But, it also has that “Did you see it?” quality to it that I only reserve for movies like Eraserhead, or my favorite Darren Aronofsky movie, mother!. It’s the kind of film that I know is not for everyone, but also the kind of film where I know just who to recommend it to. For those select few I have introduced to this movie, they’ve all said the same thing. “It’s really gross…But I liked it.”
That’s how a cult movie should be. As I said before, it’s not for everybody (especially the faint of heart), but for those who like it, we really like it, and it’s not even that old!
So, what do you think? You can stream it with your Netflix subscription or your Hulu subscription, if you want to give it a try. And, if you don’t like it…blame Stephen King! Or me. It’s okay. I’ll die on this hill.