The Burrowers

I love these quality B-flicks and I always get excited when I find a new one. Now I just found The Burrowers and from the cover and some stills I even started having expectations. Furtunately this is not bad at all. It's actually a movie of very good quality. Where most B-Movies tend to be lashed-together, obviously realized for some profit exclusively, apparently some are crafted with love. The small details, the refined tone, quality cinematography and gross creatures will get you over some flaws in the script. But the fact, that it takes it's western side serious and manages to score in that genre too, makes Burrowers a cool feature, absolutely worth your time. 6/10

The idea of underground creatures menacing the old west was well portrayed in "Tremors 4". "The Burrowers" adds some interesting twists relating to why these burrowing beasties appeared, and the Indians way of dealing with them. The film opens strong with a slaughtered family, and everyone wrongly blaming the Indians. What follows is a prolonged hunt for the hostiles. Unfortunately character development is sacrificed in favor of hitting the trail. A lot of effort went into the burrower monsters, with not a hint of c.g.i., and unfortunately it is mostly wasted in the barely discernible night attacks. Another glaring problem is the lack of subtitles for the cowboys, as their mumbled jargon is no easier to understand than the Indians language which is subtitled. Somewhere in here is an intriguing movie, but "The Burrowers" obvious flaws are objectionable. - MERK

The Burrowers is written and directed by J.T. Petty. It stars William Mapother, Sean Patrick Thomas, Clancy Brown, Laura Leighton, Doug Hutchison, Karl Geary and Robert Richard. Music is by Joseph LoDuca and cinematography by Phil Parmet.

August the 11th 1879, the Dakota territories, and after a family of pioneers are abducted a posse is formed and go off in search of the culprits. It is believed they have fallen prey to hostile Native Americans, but once out in the wilds the truth hits home and the posse find themselves in a brutal and bloody fight for survival.

It's not like Tremors! That wonderful homage to the B movie creature features of the 1950s is played for laughs and action thrills. The Burrowers admittedly on plot synopsis' does lend one to think that a fun packed creature feature is in the offering, but as many unaware film fans have found out, this is far from being the case.

I would rather walk in the right direction than ride with my head up my ass.

The Burrowers takes itself seriously, and not insultingly so. J.T. Petty wanted to make a Horror/Western but not in the schlocky sense. He even infuses the narrative with some human concerns and statements, ecologically and racially so.

The pace is very, very deliberate, so potential first time viewers need to take that into consideration. Once the plot is kick started in the opening salvo, the posse go out into the wilds and interact, for better and worse, dialogue is sharp and pointed, intelligent even.

A number of great character based scenes are setting the tone for what is a downbeat picture, while when the action comes in tantalising spurts, it's well marshalled by Petty, and it's not just all about the creatures either.

The look is of a classical Western, which considering the modest budget is quite some achievement. From costuming and props, to the colour palette, the film convinces as the Old West of 1879. In this regard it would have been very interesting to have seen Petty make a standalone Oater.

Practical effects are very decent and CGI is wisely used sparingly, though the big showdown at pic's end is something of a let down. Elsewhere Sir Clancy of Brown and Doug The Thug Hutchison are sadly under written, though the face fuzz department scores high marks!

A tricky one to recommend to either Horror or Western fans, but for atmosphere and a great sense of period - and no little amount of originality as well, it's worth checking out as long as you don't expect Tremors. 7/10

Basically a Horror Western with heavy overtones of racial morality.

But is it worth watching? Well, in my opinion yes. It has suspense, horror, action and of course - cowboys and Indian's, what more do you want? Monsters? Well it's got them too. And yes, it really is as silly as it sounds. But overall, it's a good flick to rent.

Nothing in this film is top drawer, but it's not far off. The characters are a little over the top with stereotypes, eg. Henry Victor - the Indian hating military commander (quite comical at times, whether this was intentional I don't know), the Irish settler, the 'token' black guy. The overtones of racial morality are present throughout, almost as though this is supposed to be a tale about 'loving thy neighbour'. I can understand why they did this, It's set in the late 1800's and the Indians were the bogeymen at the time, but it's a bit overdone IMO. Anyway, it's not about 'loving thy neighbour' it's about monsters...keeping it real.

Overall, Cowboys, Indians and Monsters (just missing the voluptuous blond I guess). Grab a few beers and rent this film.

6/10

On 11 August 1879, in the Dakota Territories, the Irish Fergus Coffey (Karl Geary) intends to propose his beloved Maryanne Stewart; however her family is attacked apparently by the Sioux and they vanish. Fergus joins to the experienced John Clay (Clancy Brown) and William Parcher (William Mapother) and a teenager to track down the family of settlers. Along their journey, the team-up with the army troop led by the sadistic and racist Captain Henry Victor (Doug Hutchison) that also believes that the Sioux are responsible for the abduction of the families in the territory. The quartet has friction with Henry and decides to ride without the escort of the army and the black cook Callaghan (Sean Patrick Thomas) decides to travel with the group. After an Indian attack in the woods, the survivors discovers that the Sioux are not responsible for the slaughters but actually a pack of carnivorous creatures from underground called The Burrowers and they have to fight to survive.

"The Burrowers" is a creepy, original, weird and brutal film in the environment of the Wild West, with good special effects. However these effects are too graphic and gruesome and most of the characters are non- likable. Doug Hutchison, from X-Files, performs a sadistic and racist captain of the army and his character is really hateful. The conclusion is pessimist and the black humor never works. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Escavadores" ("Burrowers")