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Originally posted in movie tab II 09-03-2009.
The Burrowers (J.T. Petty 2008)
I've just been telling Powdered Water about this in a PM and thought I might as well tab it quickly and spread the word as it were.
The Burrowers is a straight to dvd low budget horror western that was originally written by Petty as a seven part TV series back in 2007. The story revolves around a search party looking for a missing family of homesteaders they believe were taken by Indians. Led by Clancy Brown's old hand John Clay, the group soon encounter a sadistic army commander Henry Victor (Doug Hutchinson from The Green Mile) and his troops also looking for missing persons. Though when Victor begins torturing an Indian prisoner for answers, and mysteriously loses men in the night, Clay's group decide to go their own way...
This film really impressed me with some truly beautiful photography reminiscent of Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It plays primarily as a western building slowly with a sustained atmosphere of tension, and good performances all round (especially Brown and Hutchinson). The CGI creature effects are nicely restrained considering the overall tone of the film -- you only really see them in the final act -- which adds to the film's sense of mystery and suspense. The Burrowers never feels predictable though, as Petty introduces lots of clues regarding the nature of the beasts, and isn't afraid to kill off key characters keeping you guessing.
The whole thing kind of blends together ideas from The Searchers, C.H.U.D. and Tremors then wraps it up in this dreamy mood piece of a horror/western. Neat...sure to appeal to fans of both genres, perhaps my only criticism would be the slightly lethargic pace which might alienate some viewers.
The Burrowers (J.T. Petty 2008)
I've just been telling Powdered Water about this in a PM and thought I might as well tab it quickly and spread the word as it were.
The Burrowers is a straight to dvd low budget horror western that was originally written by Petty as a seven part TV series back in 2007. The story revolves around a search party looking for a missing family of homesteaders they believe were taken by Indians. Led by Clancy Brown's old hand John Clay, the group soon encounter a sadistic army commander Henry Victor (Doug Hutchinson from The Green Mile) and his troops also looking for missing persons. Though when Victor begins torturing an Indian prisoner for answers, and mysteriously loses men in the night, Clay's group decide to go their own way...
This film really impressed me with some truly beautiful photography reminiscent of Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It plays primarily as a western building slowly with a sustained atmosphere of tension, and good performances all round (especially Brown and Hutchinson). The CGI creature effects are nicely restrained considering the overall tone of the film -- you only really see them in the final act -- which adds to the film's sense of mystery and suspense. The Burrowers never feels predictable though, as Petty introduces lots of clues regarding the nature of the beasts, and isn't afraid to kill off key characters keeping you guessing.
The whole thing kind of blends together ideas from The Searchers, C.H.U.D. and Tremors then wraps it up in this dreamy mood piece of a horror/western. Neat...sure to appeal to fans of both genres, perhaps my only criticism would be the slightly lethargic pace which might alienate some viewers.