American cinema is a farce. Major Hollywood studios churn out cookie-cutter pap for the sole objective of high profit margins. The current 10 highest-grossing movies include three comic book movies (Avengers) and other similar high-production CGI-heavy films. Sales figures alone can’t command which movies are good to watch because many of the movies in the top 10 have received less than great reviews, especially from the audiences that paid to see them. Film critic reviews in the media also have inherent biases and curtail their reviews around those biases, oftentimes being politically driven, which render some of their reviews unreliable. Despite the general consensus that there is a dearth of originality and substantive storytelling coming from Hollywood today, major studios have endured and prospered by releasing uninspired content with no substantial backlash against them because it has become exceedingly profitable for them to play it safe. Cinema has become an industry not unlike the tech industry; new sleek products without much ingenuity.
Enter Bone Tomahawk, the antithesis of what Hollywood has become. It is a film which received a limited theatrical release, grossing less than half a million dollars. The movie is a hero’s journey set on the old American frontier, and it espouses authentic grittiness and desolation. Although the movie’s plot abandons the civilized world while the characters are on expedition, the characters are fleshed out so well that they embody the civilized world that they left behind. Most horror movies have disposable characters, but Bone Tomahawk’s limited main cast is refined to the core tenets that are needed; Virtue (Kurt Russell), Mystery (Matthew Fox), Persistence (Patrick Wilson), and Sincerity (Richard Jenkins). The acting is superb and allows the slow-burn nature of this movie to unravel and progress without obstruction, continuously sustaining the viewer’s attention. The excellent cinematography and sound design further authenticate the experience.
While on expedition in the wilderness, the characters are faced with seemingly impossible odds. The burden is vast, but so too are their wills. More important than their survival is the completion of their mission. The American spirit which went to the moon is displayed here: obstacles have to be overcome, even if the risk of failure (and death) is great. Triumph of the will.
The most controversial aspect of the Bone Tomahawk is that Native Americans are not seen through a romanticized lens as they are in Dances with Wolves nor other big Hollywood movies that depict them. Instead, there is primitive barbarism, which may be a bit difficult for some people to stomach. This element reduces Bone Tomahawk to a horror movie rather than just a suspense movie. But the brutality wraps the story into a nice bow, concluding and finalizing the blood-drenched tale. It is unforgettable.
