The Burrowers (2008) Review

The Burrowers was directed by J.T. Petty (who also directed Hellbenders, Blood Red Earth and Soft For Digging) and stars Clancy Brown (from Nothing Left To Fear, A Nightmare On Elm Street), William Mapother (from The Atticus Institute, Static) and Sean Patrick Thomas (from The Curse of La Llorona, Kemper). It’s a western horror movie about a group of guys on a rescue mission who come face to face with a tribe of subterranean mutant people eaters.

Evil will surface.

The Burrowers, which is based off a short film called Blood Red Earth by the same director, is similar to Bone Tomahawk in that it’s about a rescue mission to save some townsfolk from a tribe of Indians. Only in Bone Tomahawk, the rescue party got to battle humans, where in The Burrowers, well let’s just say they weren’t that lucky.

This is a surprisingly good western horror movie that I’ll be adding to my permanent library. It has atmosphere, suspense, danger from multiple sources, mystery and even some gore. It has a couple other big things going for it as well, but mentioning them would venture into spoiler territory.

The Burrowers is mostly just a western movie throughout the first hour, the horror aspects don’t really kick in until the last part (again, not unlike Bone Tomahawk). But despite this, it’s still a gripping story with plenty of suspense and mounting dread. It’s a slower paced movie which requires some patience in the middle, there’s a lot of long horse rides and campfire talks, but that’s really what works to solidify it as a true western.

Best way to describe it would be a cross between Bone Tomahawk and The Descent.