I recently watched Kurt Russell’s movie,Bone Tomahawk, and now I’ve officially seen the hardest-to-watch scene in the entire Western genre. In 2015, Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, and Matthew Fox starred in the Western horror film,Bone Tomahawk.Russell leadsBone Tomahawk’scastas Sheriff Franklin Hunt, who gathers a search party to find three people who have been kidnapped by a cult of cannibalistic cave dwellers. With a Certified Fresh 91% on Rotten Tomatoes,Bone Tomahawkis a dark and gritty mixture of the already violent Western genrealong with true moments of disturbing horror.
In general, Westerns are not the most family-friendly of movies. Due to their setting and historical period,Western movies often include graphic violence, from shootouts and public executions to battles on horseback and nasty diseases. As much fun as Westerns can be, they also can showcase the worst of humanity. In this way, I have seen plenty of scenes from Westerns that have sent a chill down my spine or made my stomach turn. However,now that I have seenBone Tomahawk,nothing compares to the vivid and terrifying momentthat comes later on in the film.
Bone Tomahawk Ending Explained
2015’s critically acclaimed 2015 Western horror Bone Tomahawk features a shocking, grisly ending that leaves a whole host of questions unanswered.
Why Nick’s Death In Bone Tomahawk Is The Hardest-To-Watch Western Scene I’ve Seen
What Happens To Nick In Bone Tomahawk
The climax ofBone Tomahawkis already intense and dread-inducing, but there is one scene in particular that I simply can’t get out of my head. In the film, a deputy named Nick is kidnapped alongside the doctor’s daughter and an injured brigand. Sheriff Hunt and his peers track down the victims to a cave, where a group of cannibals finds them and locks them up. As Hunt tries to escape from his cage, he is forced to watch (alongside the audience) asNick is taken from his own cell and brutally murdered.
The cannibals strip Nick of his clothes, scalp him, and while he is still conscious, cut open his crotch with a tomahawk, and painstakingly pull his body apart. The camera never strays from this horrific scene, and in fact, lingers on its most traumatizing parts. That is what makes this scene so difficult to watch. Throughout the film, it is clear that the cannibals are vicious killers, but nothing prepares viewers for the reality ofNick’sBone Tomahawkdeath scene. It is bloody and unflinching. Like the characters in the movie,we’re not spared from the horror of this killing.
Bone Tomahawk’s Violence Is An Important Part Of The Movie
How Bone Tomahawk Puts Its Violence To Good Use
Despite the nauseating brutality ofBone Tomahawk’sdeath scene, it never feels gratuitous or unnecessary. In fact, it seems to me that Nick’s death scene is a very calculated and important part of the film. Where other Westerns lean into their violence and leave no room for audiences to breathe,Bone Tomahawkuses its bloody moments to its advantage. Rather than desensitizing its viewers to violence,Bone Tomahawkprotects audiences from the gore until the most important moment. In this way, Nick’s death is even more impactful than it would have been otherwise.
Nick is played by Evan Jonigkeit inBone Tomahawk.
To be more specific,Bone Tomahawkis a slow-burn watch. Most of the film moves at a slow pace that allows audiences to get to know the characters and anticipate what lies ahead. There is very little violence or intense scares. The closer Hunt and his comrades get to discovering the cannibals, the more excited audiences become. However,this just makes the reality of the cannibals that much more frightening.Bone Tomahawkgoes from zero to 100. Viewers go from a somewhat dark journey across the wild west to one of the bloodiest murders I’ve ever witnessed on-screen.
What Are Some Similar Westerns To Bone Tomahawk?
Westerns That Fuse Horror & Mystery
It is easy to find more Western movies to watch, but a more difficult task to find films that use horror in the same wayBone Tomahawkdoes. One similar project is 1999’sRavenous.The movie follows an Army captain who travels in search of a missing person. During his investigation, he discovers that a wagon guide has gone rogue and killed his passengers, and now, must be taken in for his crimes.Ravenousshares a very similar concept withBone Tomahawk,and also relies heavily on mystery and shocking violence.
Some other movies that are good to watch afterBone TomahawkareFrom Dusk Till Dawn, The Burrowers,andThe Hateful Eight.All in all, these films will provide audiences with a spooky Western setting and some elements of horror, action, and mystery. Yet, I must reiterate thatBone Tomahawkstands out as the most difficult Western I have ever seen, and for this reason, no other Western may ever live up to the horror that this film made me feel.
Bone Tomahawk
Cast
Bone Tomahawk is a Western film that follows Sheriff Franklin Hunt, who gathers together a group of fighters to save three kidnapped victims from a clan of cannibals. After the town’s doctor is kidnapped along with two others, forcing the sheriff to partner with the town’s Native American professor and find the tribe before it’s too late.
