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FEARnet Reviews: The Burrowers
Having screened Blood Red Earth, the prequel to The Burrowers, it seemed only appropriate to follow the natural cycle of things and give the feature length film a fresh viewing. I’m actually rather happy I did, as I had forgotten just how enjoyable this western-slash-horror flick is.
Once you get past a nice creepy little introduction that gives viewers an idea that we’re not dealing with a wild Indian tribe, but something far more nister, we run into some early pacing issues. The film slows to a near halt for a solid 25 minutes as a group of men venture off to search for a misng family, and in truth the lag in action is almost enough to steal any interest in the film. That is, until Petty saves the feature with the onslaught of the burrowers.
Once these hideous critters surface, the mood of the feature changes drastically; transforming from a sleep inducing western into an unsettling horror gem. The burrowers themselves are interesting creations (brought to life by Almost Human Inc.) that look like human beings that got twisted, turned, pulled and melted into ckly contorted mounds of flesh. The incorporated CGI isn’t too excesve, and doesn’t hurt the overall imagery too much, though I would have loved to see practical effects utilized throughout the entire film.
Our primary search party consts of just a few men (including Clancy Brown as John Clay and William Mapother as William Parcher), and while they initially believed Indians to be responble (which does stir up some fatal troubles for the bunch), they quickly learn that the wilderness houses something inhuman, and blood thirsty.
What follows is a hunt between creature and man, which is a fun spin when condering the original potion of this specific search party. While it is, for the most part, a one-ded slaughtering, a select few do indeed put up a valiant fight that makes for an entertaining climax to the feature.
 the setting. These days, the combination of western and horror is a bit of a rarity. While the picture is anything but perfect, J.T. Petty does do a nice job of juggling both genres; save for the finale, there’s a very healthy balance between western and horror, which I applaud.<br /><br />Don’t head into this viewing journey expecting perfection, because you won’t get it. What you will get is spirit, and a fair sense of originality. If you pretend Tremors had never been made, you’ve actually got a really original piece of work; as it is, The Burrowers is still a fun, freaky flick that’ll have you investigating prior to planning picnics.<br /><br />Grade: B-
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Once you get past a nice creepy little introduction that gives viewers an idea that we’re not dealing with a wild Indian tribe, but something far more nister, we run into some early pacing issues. The film slows to a near halt for a solid 25 minutes as a group of men venture off to search for a misng family, and in truth the lag in action is almost enough to steal any interest in the film. That is, until Petty saves the feature with the onslaught of the burrowers.
Once these hideous critters surface, the mood of the feature changes drastically; transforming from a sleep inducing western into an unsettling horror gem. The burrowers themselves are interesting creations (brought to life by Almost Human Inc.) that look like human beings that got twisted, turned, pulled and melted into ckly contorted mounds of flesh. The incorporated CGI isn’t too excesve, and doesn’t hurt the overall imagery too much, though I would have loved to see practical effects utilized throughout the entire film.
Our primary search party consts of just a few men (including Clancy Brown as John Clay and William Mapother as William Parcher), and while they initially believed Indians to be responble (which does stir up some fatal troubles for the bunch), they quickly learn that the wilderness houses something inhuman, and blood thirsty.
What follows is a hunt between creature and man, which is a fun spin when condering the original potion of this specific search party. While it is, for the most part, a one-ded slaughtering, a select few do indeed put up a valiant fight that makes for an entertaining climax to the feature.
Matt_Molgaard
Monday 7/18/2011 at 06:07 PM | 78899
