If you couldn't tell by the title, I'm back on my western kick and a good way to run with that is to acknowledge some notable horror western that I've seen in the past year.
The Revenant (2015): this film is partly based on the novel by Michael Punke, which in turn is based on the true story of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper in the early 1800s who was mauled by a bear and left for dead by his companion. It depicts Glass's harrowing journey through the American frontier back to civilization while slowly recovering from his wounds. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was unsparing in his efforts to the make the violence realistic and ugly in this film, bringing home the horrors of surviving in a wintry wilderness. We see Glass literally crawling some of the way home, facing every challenge imaginable. This helped me realize that survival horror is the most down to earth form of horror out there. People can laugh off ghosts, vampires, or the excesses of slasher movies, but it's not so easy when faced with the realities of starvation, bear attacks, or freezing to death. There's a good reason this earned DiCaprio an Oscar. If this didn't shake off his pretty boy 90s image, nothing would.
The Wind (2018): this one takes place on the plains detailing the isolation of Lucy and Isaac as they are haunted by an unseen demonic force. To me, this movie has some of the best elements for a supernatural horror movie, most notably it's looming atmosphere and restraint. We aren't offered a solution or explanation to what is happening and to me, that usually serves a tale terror best. I'll be watching this underrated gem again.
The Burrowers (2008): in this tale, a widowed mother and her daughters disappear from their home. The search party assumes it was Indians, although the more perceptive members of the party notice mounds of dirt near the abduction site, as if something had burrowed recently. This turned into a bleak and violent expedition that has the protagonists face and seemingly unstoppable type of monster.
Bone Tomahawk (2016): this movie, starring Kurt Russell and Patrick Wilson, contends for the most violent movie I've ever seen and definitely ranks in that area for one unforgettable scene. Kurt Russell plays a sheriff who leads a posse into the wild to rescue some kidnapped townsfolk only to realize that the tribe they are dealing with aren't typical American Indians, but the survival of something more ancient and deadly. This one is a hard movie to watch but it is carried out so well with an excellent cast that I became invested in watching. You won't need me to point out the most gruesome scene, you'll know it when you see it.
Since I'll probably be in the western mood for a while, I might return with an article on Eastwood's movies and Spaghetti Westerns, even though I need to watch more of them. I hope I mentioned something you haven't seen before.
Written by Nick Montelongo
The Revenant (2015): this film is partly based on the novel by Michael Punke, which in turn is based on the true story of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper in the early 1800s who was mauled by a bear and left for dead by his companion. It depicts Glass's harrowing journey through the American frontier back to civilization while slowly recovering from his wounds. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was unsparing in his efforts to the make the violence realistic and ugly in this film, bringing home the horrors of surviving in a wintry wilderness. We see Glass literally crawling some of the way home, facing every challenge imaginable. This helped me realize that survival horror is the most down to earth form of horror out there. People can laugh off ghosts, vampires, or the excesses of slasher movies, but it's not so easy when faced with the realities of starvation, bear attacks, or freezing to death. There's a good reason this earned DiCaprio an Oscar. If this didn't shake off his pretty boy 90s image, nothing would.The Wind (2018): this one takes place on the plains detailing the isolation of Lucy and Isaac as they are haunted by an unseen demonic force. To me, this movie has some of the best elements for a supernatural horror movie, most notably it's looming atmosphere and restraint. We aren't offered a solution or explanation to what is happening and to me, that usually serves a tale terror best. I'll be watching this underrated gem again.The Burrowers (2008): in this tale, a widowed mother and her daughters disappear from their home. The search party assumes it was Indians, although the more perceptive members of the party notice mounds of dirt near the abduction site, as if something had burrowed recently. This turned into a bleak and violent expedition that has the protagonists face and seemingly unstoppable type of monster.
Bone Tomahawk (2016): this movie, starring Kurt Russell and Patrick Wilson, contends for the most violent movie I've ever seen and definitely ranks in that area for one unforgettable scene. Kurt Russell plays a sheriff who leads a posse into the wild to rescue some kidnapped townsfolk only to realize that the tribe they are dealing with aren't typical American Indians, but the survival of something more ancient and deadly. This one is a hard movie to watch but it is carried out so well with an excellent cast that I became invested in watching. You won't need me to point out the most gruesome scene, you'll know it when you see it. Since I'll probably be in the western mood for a while, I might return with an article on Eastwood's movies and Spaghetti Westerns, even though I need to watch more of them. I hope I mentioned something you haven't seen before.
Written by Nick Montelongo
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