Bone Tomahawk is not for the faint of heart: it's a brutal, bloody Western described by Empire's resident horror expert Kim Newman as “exceptionally gruesome.” Unforgiven Satisfies The Hills Have Eyes with an attractive cast and some truly horrifying violence.
The film stars Kurt Russell as Patrick Wilson, a hardened sheriff who sets out to save three people who have been kidnapped by violent, bloodthirsty clan members. While it's often nearly unwatchable, it's also very funny in places. It's a very strange film, but it's one of the best movies on Netflix: a genre-bending mix of Western, horror, and comedy.
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Is Bone Tomahawk worth streaming?
Empire says yes: “It's as much a comedy as a cowboy horror film. Jenkins' free-associative mumblings are inspired and fanciful, and the feisty heroine (Lili Simmons) has a fantastic speech about how the real danger of life in the Wild West isn't 'Indians' or the weather, 'but idiots. ' Its influences range all over the place, with stretches reminiscent of the Coen brothers punctuated by echoes of Rob Zombie.”
“It's a John Ford-style sci-fi/horror/cannibalistic exploitation film, it's an old-fashioned, deliberately paced Western that occasionally morphs into a horror film,” says Movie Mezzanine. Meanwhile, CinemaDope says it's “part revisionist film, part horror film.” The Hills Have Eyes “splash party… a well-constructed walk into enemy territory that becomes increasingly difficult to digest or shake off.”
“A few missteps aside, this is the best campfire movie of recent times,” says Total Film, while The Irish Times says “aside from the ultraviolence, there’s much to admire in this innovative, genre-busting film.” The Observer says it’s “a radical fusion of disparate elements that build on each other beautifully,” while Time Out says it’s “charming, strange, silly, unpredictable and genuinely horrifying in equal measure.”
