Bone Tomahawk (2015)
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A sheriff leads a posse into a desolate region to rescue three people who were abducted.
The story
In the 1890s, a small-town sheriff leads a posse into a desolate region to rescue three people who were abducted. After a local man is injured by a bandit, the sheriff forms a rescue party including a gunslinger and a local doctor's assistant. They travel into a remote area to find the missing individuals, warned by a local expert that the area is inhabited by a tribe of inbred cannibals known as troglodytes. The group must navigate a dangerous landscape to reach the captives before they are lost to the hostile tribe.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the 1890s, a bandit named Purvis is injured by Sheriff Franklin Hunt after being caught with stolen loot. Hunt organizes a rescue party consisting of a gunslinger, a local doctor's assistant, and a local man with a broken leg to find three missing people. They are warned that the area is inhabited by 'troglodytes,' a tribe of inbred cannibals. During their journey, the party is ambushed and loses their horses. Upon reaching the troglodytes' territory, they are attacked; the gunslinger is killed, and Hunt and his remaining companions are captured. Inside the cave, they witness the brutal fate of the others. Hunt manages to drug several troglodytes with an opium-laced flask. Meanwhile, the man with the broken leg finds his way into the cave and helps Hunt defeat the troglodyte leader. In the end, Hunt stays behind to ensure the troglodytes do not return to the nearby town, while the others escape the valley.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 132
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- S. Craig Zahler
- Writers
- S. Craig Zahler · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kurt Russell · Sheriff Franklin Hunt; Patrick Wilson · John Brooder; Matthew Fox · Arthur; Richard Jenkins · Chicory; Lili Simmons · Samantha O'Dwyer; Evan Jonigkeit; David Arquette; Sid Haig
- Genres
- Western; horror
- Themes
- Survival; Sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- Gritty; Suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Horror; Cannibalism
- Source material / true-story basis
- Western novel Wraiths of the Broken Land
- Reception
- The film received mainly positive reviews, with praise for the screenplay, direction, and ensemble cast performances.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · scale: percentage · review count: 101; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The script was originally intended to be an adaptation of the novel Wraiths of the Broken Land.; The film was shot in 21 days in California.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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