Ep. 038: Bone Tomahawk (2015)

15 thoughts on “Ep. 038: Bone Tomahawk (2015)”

1. Great discussion here!

2. Damn, once again I forgot to watch the movie b4 you beautiful podcasters reviewed it…Stupid head of mine

3. You MoFo’s didn’t say this movie was 2 damn hours long…

   1. We must have mentioned that in the review, but not ahead of time… sorry, Tony. My pick, my responsibility. But then again, I don’t mind long movies. Sorry not sorry. Lol!

   2. Ha ha ha Tony. Yeah, I always state the runtime at the beginning of each review. But for this movie, I could have watched a four-hour version of it! -J

4. To add to your comments, I have to point out the rich tradition of the Western crossover with Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy called ‘Weird West’. That’s the correct genre classification for this movie, I think, Weird West. There’s lots of fun stories in this genre from the pulp writers in the earlier 20th century; Robert E Howard is maybe the most well known. It’s cowboys & vampires, cowboys & ghosts or aliens, that kind of thing, a really fun niche genre in those classic pulp short stories.

   I think of the John Carter novels as having some roots in this tradition too, especially the first one.

   Bone Tomahawk is a modern take, with great actors, production and effects, on this classic Weird West genre. It’s kind of like the first Star Wars movie, called ‘Star Wars’, that George Lucas made from his memory of the fun sci-fi pulp stories and serials that he grew up with.

5. I don’t remember hearing u guys say it so I was shocked & so boring I had to turn it off & probably will just watch it listening to my music to see the gore scenes but yeah so far not a fan. 4 hrs Jay you’re nuts! Didn’t even show the abduction so that was lame. Hopefully a better movie next week!

6. To add to your comments, there’s a rich tradition of the Western crossover with Horror, Sci Fi & Fantasy called ‘Weird West’. That’s the correct genre for this movie, I think. There’s lots of fun stories in this genre from the pulp writers 60-100 years ago; Robert E Howard is maybe the most well known. It’s cowboys & vampires, cowboys & ghosts or aliens, that kind of thing, a really fun niche genre in these classic pulp stories.

   I think of the John Carter novels as having some roots in this tradion too, especially the first one.

   ‘Bone Tomahawk’ is a modern take on this classic Weird West genre, with good actors, production, effects, and writing, 9/10 buy!

   ‘Weird West’ isn’t talked about very much, so another great example to help get a sense of it, try ‘Valley of the Gwangi'(1969), Ray Harryhausen’s cowboys & dinosuars project.

   1. Thanks for the info, Nicolas! I can’t promise I will watch them, because as I stated on the podcast, I generally don’t like westerns. I liked this because even though it was set in the old west, it wasn’t really about that. This seems like something way more realistic and gritty than other horror tropes… but hey, you never know.

      1. I forgot about ‘Westworld’, the popular TV show, based on the great 1973 movie! That was a huge oversight on my part not mentioning that, since it’s maybe the most popular Weird West story people are watching right now.

         ‘Bone Tomahawk’ has an awesome monster, brutal realistic violence and horror. I think the philistines complaining so much about the slow pace don’t really understand what a good monster movie is. We see the monster tease in that amazing opening scene, and then there’s the gradual build up to the full reveal in the third act. This is the proper format for a monster movie, people; the pacing in ‘Bone Tomahawk’ is absolutely correct.

         Lady Phantom, ‘Valley of the Gwangi’ is a really fun dinosaur + cowboys movie to watch with the nieces and nephews on a Saturday afternoon, not scary, not horror, just some good clean monster fun.

         1. I’ve heard a lot about Westworld. Alas, I don’t have HBO, so there’s that.
            I totally agree about the pace of the movie. I wasn’t bored for a second; I was invested.
            Erm… I’m going to respectfully say nope to that dinosaur thing. I really don’t like the idea of westerns plus dinosaurs. I hardly like westerns at all, as you know. But thanks for the recommendation!

7. Great episode! I LOVED this movie, and thought you did a great job covering it.
   I had put off watching it, for 5 years, because it was a western. Because westerns mostly suck. But this film is a standout amongst westerns, as well as horror films. Fantastic cast, great story all the way through, thoroughly enjoyed! I thought the minimal use of sound, and all that walking, were awesome, purposeful and effective, tools used to get us into the feel of the era. While we, in our day, might fly through a landscape in a fast car, with our own soundtrack playing, here we are forced to walk with them in the silence.
   I’ve never liked a western more! Great pick, Lady Phantom!!
   I’m a big fan of this show, have been listening weekly since the first episode!

   1. Thank you so much, Libby! I couldn’t agree more with everything you say. It’s a quiet, well paced movie, no matter what anybody says. It’s good to find a wester that is actually good.
      Thanks for listening and commenting!

8. Great review, and glad y’all liked it! I agree J, it’s a masterpiece! And bored… not even close. The rescue premise, characters, trogolodytes, special effects, sound, dread… oh the dread, was all great. I agree seeing them make it back and how they go about their life would have added to feature, but understand and appreciate the abrupt ending.

   I anticipate any and all works of Zahlers. He even got me into reading.
   As mentioned on commenting on the last episode, he has 2 great and dark western/thriller horror novels that include a rescue mission and brutal gore. A congregation of jackals and
   Wraiths of a broken land. 5 books in total with a new book coming out in the next several weeks.

   1. Oooh, that sounds good, Sam!

      Glad you enjoyed the episode. It’s a truly great movie.

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