Bone Tomahawk
During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
What critics thought
A slow-burn genre hybrid that fuses the Western and cannibal-horror film, Bone Tomahawk won broad critical approval for its unhurried, digressive script, a Kurt Russell-led ensemble clearly relishing the material, and an unusual willingness to mix genuine dread with dark comedy. The sharpest debate centers on the film's racial politics — specifically whether its portrayal of its Native American antagonists perpetuates captivity-narrative mythology or whether the period setting excuses it — and a secondary argument over whether the runtime is a feature or a flaw.
“the wayward digressions of Zahler's script — navigated with palpable enjoyment by an expert, Kurt Russell-led ensemble — that are most treasurable in a film that commits wholeheartedly to its own curiosity value.”
Guy Lodge·Variety
“may boast abysmal racial politics, but they're also true to the terrors of the time. Of all the things we can expect from an Old West picture, cultural enlightenment isn't one of them.”
Jeannette Catsoulis·The New York Times
“skittish about its racism, self-conscious in a manner reminiscent of Django Unchained...”
Chuck Bowen·Slant Magazine
Genres
Drama, Horror, Western
Cast & Crew
DirectorS. Craig Zahler
StarringKurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox, Lili Simmons
ComposerJeff Herriott, S. Craig Zahler
Bone Tomahawk
During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
What critics thought
A slow-burn genre hybrid that fuses the Western and cannibal-horror film, Bone Tomahawk won broad critical approval for its unhurried, digressive script, a Kurt Russell-led ensemble clearly relishing the material, and an unusual willingness to mix genuine dread with dark comedy. The sharpest debate centers on the film's racial politics — specifically whether its portrayal of its Native American antagonists perpetuates captivity-narrative mythology or whether the period setting excuses it — and a secondary argument over whether the runtime is a feature or a flaw.
“the wayward digressions of Zahler's script — navigated with palpable enjoyment by an expert, Kurt Russell-led ensemble — that are most treasurable in a film that commits wholeheartedly to its own curiosity value.”
Guy Lodge·Variety
“may boast abysmal racial politics, but they're also true to the terrors of the time. Of all the things we can expect from an Old West picture, cultural enlightenment isn't one of them.”
Jeannette Catsoulis·The New York Times
“skittish about its racism, self-conscious in a manner reminiscent of Django Unchained...”
Chuck Bowen·Slant Magazine
Genres
Drama, Horror, Western
Cast & Crew
DirectorS. Craig Zahler
StarringKurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins, Matthew Fox, Lili Simmons
ComposerJeff Herriott, S. Craig Zahler