The Burrowers (2008)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Don't listen to the negative reviews

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The obligatory summary....A family goes missing in the "wild west", including a young woman. The young Irish man who has been courting the woman teams up with some other locals and military folk in the belief that natives have kidnapped them and they go off on a search and rescue. As they come to find, the reality is far worse.As stated in my summary, this movie has pretty much everything it could want going for it. That starts with the scenario of setting our horror in the old west. While this has been done a few times before, in general it is rare to find horror put into this setting and I found it refreshing. The setting could have failed completely, though, were it not for the director's deft hand at using it for desolate effect and crafting something unique from the tools of both horror and western film making. There is an obvious love for the western here, too, and it shows in the skilled use of wide landscape shots, abandoned wagons and native villages and prairie homes. The other thing really going for this movie is a fairly unique creature. The hallmark of a good independent horror film is often creating something that is original and not a retread of monsters that Hollywood has dragged through the dirt. Yes, the creatures here certainly have some trace of TREMORS and THE MOLE PEOPLE to them, but ultimately were fresh and creative. The acting in this movie was above par for indie horror, as well, with some good turns from Clancy Brown and William Mapother. The climax of the film is well crafted and provides some good scare moments.So, what goes wrong? Unique setting, unique creature, good acting, good directing. This should be the pathway to a new horror classic, or at the least, a movie that would warrant repeat viewings, but it just doesn't add up right here. Despite the appreciation for the high, lonesome west scene, at times it just feels too drawn out and slow. Despite the unique creatures, when they are revealed in full sight, they leave a little something to be desired (I will admit right out that I am partial to practical effects over bad CGI). Maybe it's the broad characterizations of the token black man, the racist military leader, all the "white men are evil" lecturing. It all starts to feel a little too easily predictable in terms of how the characters are going to react to things.It's so close to being excellent that it shows how often, in film, the slightest things can be the difference between genius and disaster. It's a well-done movie, but probably needed a little more time in the editing room and a little more script work to make it something that would have endured.

This is one of those films where I need to balance how I personally felt about it, with trying to be objective about how well it was made. Something I might add, MOST people do not do.First off, this really isn't quite my kind of Horror film. I DO like the concept of the Horror / Western just fine, so it isn't that at all. I guess what put me off, and again this is just my personal taste, is the overall downer tone of the movie. Like I said in my Summary, it has a pretty heavy nihilistic tone; in my lowly and wretched opinion, there just aren't really any truly 'enjoyable' moments in this movie to be found anywhere.But... you can see that clearly by some of the other reviews and discussion comments here, that many REALLY did like this film. So, I think that if this TYPE of Horror film is your cup of tea, so to speak, then you probably will like it.I will do my best to be objective and give what I feel are the strong and weak parts of the film. Overall, it was technically pretty well made. The look and the photography were very good. I, myself, was kind of put off by some of the dialog and most of the acting. I'm not saying that it was necessarily BAD, but I really didn't like the style that the director brought out in the actors; it just struck me as a BIT amateurish, especially considering the caliber of the actors that were in this movie. I just didn't quite get the feel that the director was really bringing out the very best from these otherwise experienced and good actors, and the net effect, to me anyway, was that the resulting performances were somewhat trite and clichéd. Not horrible, mind you, but I feel that perhaps a different director could have REALLY tightened up the tone and performances CONSIDERABLY, thus much more powerfully engaging the audience and drawing them into the film, instead of giving us the feeling that we were just uninvolved bystanders. I hope that that makes some kind of sense.Again though, I think that it is likely that many people will not be nearly as 'fussy' as I am about this aspect of the acting / directing, and will simply be able to enjoy it for what it is. A moderately scary Horror / Western.The tension and suspense were also very well done (however, I feel that some of the performances detracted from this) The basic story moved along at a decent pace and towards the latter scenes where the monsters really let loose, there are indeed some pretty decent Horror elements.I for one, do not personally care for this kind of casual nihilistic approach to film making, whether it is Horror or otherwise. Just not my kind of thing. So, without entering true Spoiler territory, I will say that with this in mind, I did NOT appreciate the last bit shown at the very end. NOT my thing, DIDN'T like it, and I did NOT think it was cute. What the hell is the purpose served by that...? Is the audience supposed to 'Get Off' on it and derive some kind of sadistic pleasure from it...? Like I say, quite DEFINITELY NOT my thing... But, to others who get 'Into' that kind of style, which seems to be born out by some of the discussions concerning the ending, it appears that a number of people really do like this movie and it's ending and think it's pretty 'Cool'.So, as you can likely tell; I personally didn't really enjoy the film that much. But, I have tried to be fair and balanced, and I've tried to rate it and review it as far as the merits of the film itself, especially taking into consideration that there ARE a lot of people who like movies like this. The overall idea and concept are very good; and perhaps if the director were a bit more experienced and / or talented, and if the performances had been better, then I feel that the movie could almost have been a Classic...I would say from my standpoint that if you are like me, and you prefer a little more cleverness in your Horror films, or perhaps a bit more subtlety or maybe a more nuanced atmosphere, then you may not enjoy the movie that much. BUT... if you just like your Horror movies straight up, and don't mind a nihilistic or sadistic bent to them, then you may very well be entertained by it...

an interesting subject. an interesting image about West. and the skin of dark fairy tale. a film about survive and about a myth. the other side of reality and the different vision about Amerindians and Whites. almost an old fashion horror because the purpose is not exactly the terror, to scare or to impress. but present a story not extraordinary but convincing. it is special for its spirit - few men in search of a family, the slices of classical western, the confessions and the fight against obscure enemy, the truth and the a new day. nothing amazing. but a good film. and this detail is more important because, after its end, the feeling what it was a different type of film remains.

In my view, this is more of a Western with a Creature feature. Except I was surprised to see they didn't trash it.The Creatures are actually parsed out well and fit in the Western Genre-- No Campy Count Dracula/Zombie transplanted to a One-Horse town silliness. And the best part is, you are given only hints of the creatures until later in the movie as the characters get deeper into dangerous Indian territory.The best part, ironically, is the serious attention paid to the Frontier setting: the harsh, uncertainty of relations between White Man and the Indians, the potential brutality of frontier life and conflict, the gritty realism of the action when they get caught in a battle with hostile Indians.It moves slowly at first, but when you consider this is a frontier setting, just men and women settlers sparsely spread out amongst hostile tribes, first they have to reason past the natural suspicions to see the unnatural threat. And the progression happens with a kind of Frontier logic and pace.This is actually a Good Saturday Night Creature Feature rental/streamer on a Wide Screen. Enjoy it!