Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Yash Wade
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
BA_Harrison
1879: The Dakota Territories. A family of settlers are brutally attacked, the victims either dead or missing; suspicion falls on the local Indians. A rescue party sets out to find the missing people only to discover a race of subterranean creatures that feed on human organs (because—***heavy handed message alert!***—their usual diet of buffalo has been seriously depleted by the white man—boo hiss!).Despite a promising basic premise, I didn't enjoy The Burrowers very much: it's as if the film-makers came up with a good idea and then figured out every possible way to suck the fun out of it. They desaturated the colour, made the action as slow as molasses in January, kept the monsters hidden from view for the majority of the time (not that they are much cop when we do get to see them), and shot almost everything at night so that it was extremely difficult to see what was going on. Then, to round it all off, they gave the film one hell of an unsatisfactory ending, killing off the only vaguely likable characters and closing in a manner that I guess is intended to be daringly unpredictable, ironic, and downbeat, but which only succeeds in being hugely irritating.
TheRedDeath30
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.
Scott LeBrun
"The Burrowers" may not be on the level of, say, "Tremors", in its placement of a creature feature in a rural type of setting, but it isn't bad at all either. It does sort of suffer from a "been there, done that" feeling most of the time, although the way it puts a horror genre on a classic "The Searchers" type of Western plot is commendable. Where it works best is in the creation of a period feel, from the acting to the few locations used; mostly, it's filmed in the wide open spaces, and establishing that feeling of isolation can always help in a horror movie.A rural family is set upon by mysterious forces, and when only some of the bodies remain, some of their neighbours determine to find the supposed survivors. Among this group of searchers are Fergus Coffey (Karl Geary), who intended to marry Maryanne (Jocelin Donahue of "The House of the Devil"), one of the missing. They assume their people have been abducted by Indians, but are in for a shock when the perpetrators turn out to be something FAR worse.Writer / director J.T. Petty has his movie unfold at a deliberate pace, so some genre fans may grow a little impatient waiting for the good stuff. However, this does allow the actors time to create some well defined characters. Coffey, for one, is a basically good guy, but is shown to be fatally impulsive. Sean Patrick Thomas is quite engaging in the role of Callaghan the cook. Doug Hutchison, best known for playing Percy in "The Green Mile", adds another memorable interpretation of an incredibly unlikable part to his repertoire. Veteran Clancy Brown is solid in a tough but stolid role; however, he disappears from the movie a little too soon. The music (by Joseph LoDuca) is good as is the gorgeous widescreen photography. The creatures themselves don't sport particularly innovative design, but there is at least one entertaining aspect to what they do with their victims. The ending, too, falls short of being really satisfying. Still, Petty and company deserve some credit for preventing it from being wholly predictable, and for their blunt and honest depiction of the in-your-face racism of the time.Taking everything into account, one could do better than this and one could do a lot worse. Horror junkies should find it reasonably entertaining.Seven out of 10.
oneguyrambling
Strange movie. It's nearly Tremors, nearly Ravenous, nearly The Descent and nearly interesting.But three 'nearly's' ain't getting it done I'm afraid.Set in 1879 – 100 years before Billy Corgan found a year worth singing about – The Burrowers refer to… things, that beset a group of soldiers, civilians and cowboys searching for members of a missing presumed taken by Indians in a violent raid.The civvies have a more direct interest in finding those missing, but it seems the soldiers are driven by more sketchy motivations. It is after they indulge in some basic prolonged torture that the civvies decide to break and head off alone deep into Indian territory.It is here that things finally get to the point – and by that I mean the plot starts dealing with the events and 'things' referred to on the DVD cover. Only took half the film to get there.As the searchers forge ever onward they begin noticing shallow but obvious holes in the terrain, unnatural looking holes, near one of these a young girl is found buried in the dirt – literally buried – only her scalp barely shows on the ground surface. Stranger still the girl is alive, though catatonic, and she is immediately sent back to the town with a young boy as her chauffeur.The remaining crew move forward, by this stage as confused as we are. Until they finally meet those responsible for the holes, after this everything quickly falls into place, meaning the film can be wrapped up similarly swiftly.The design of the 'burrowers' is only so-so, they don't really look that effective which explains also why they are not shown on screen mostly as glimpses and in the fringes. In fact the director showed more close ups of various insects in the first hour than the titular creatures.I kinda liked the brief National Geographic explanation behind the burrowers living habits (think spiders) and I kinda liked the pacing near the end. But really this is like a Dean Koontz book, come up with an interchangeable monster/creature/virus/'insert scary thing X', spend two thirds of the book lazily setting the scene, then have the final third about dealing with 'X'.It's all quite straightforward and not quite worthwhile.Final Rating – 5 / 10. A brave, sincere and futile attempt at creating an original horror movie that doesn't work because even in small borrowings the original sources are obvious (and better).
