The Burrowers Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
A band of courageous men sets out to find and recover a family of settlers that has mysteriously vanished from their home. Expecting the offenders to be a band of fierce natives, the group prepares for a routine battle. But they soon discover that the real enemy stalks them from below.
| Doug Hutchison | Henry Victor |
| Clancy Brown | |
| William Mapother | Parcher |
| Sean Patrick Thomas | Callaghan |
| Karl Geary | Coffey |
| Jocelin Donahue | Maryanne |
| Laura Leighton | Gertrude |
| Stan Burd | |
| David Busse | Young Bluecoat |
| Trip Davis | Thin Bluecoat |
| Chris Grabher | Burrower #2 |
| Christopher Hagen | Father - Stewart |
| Galen Hutchinson | Dobie |
| Tatanka Means | Tall Ute |
| David Midthunder | Dull Knife |
| J.T. Petty |
6.80 out of 10 (38 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Cowboys and Indians.....oh and Monsters!
posted on 06 Aug 2009Basically 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
a very underrated movie
posted on 31 Jul 2009I heard about this film from "Kim Newman's Video Dungeon" feature in Empire.Normally he gets to sort through the straight-to-DVD trash that most (or some) would rather leave to others. However, his "dungeon breakout" selection of the month is always worth a look. This is one such example and is a highly ambitious film that was bizarrely "shitcanned" by LionsGate Films. Especially since they're about to release Saw 5(!)I feel the whiff of corporate defecation amidst!? Anyway! Sorry back to the review:Great acting, grizzled new frontier dialogue, thought provoking overtones of "injun" racism and amazing vista shots of 1800's Dakota plains. Plus a "beastie" that preys on all of them!Okay, so yes maybe it's contains some horror. but at it's heart is a great epic. Highly recommended and a lot more related to "good country for old men" or "The Proposition" than "the Thing" or "Tremors". But if you expected a trashy "short sharp shock" horror movie then don't say I didn't warn you.. p.s. this is NOTHING like tremors! :P
If Lovecraft wrote a western....
posted on 27 Jul 2009I really don't get the negative press and review this flick is getting, this is pure gold. If H.P. Lovecraft wrote a western, this would probably be the story. This story doesn't need toe be blood and guts, it isn't relaing on gore, just shear suspense and story. It is a simpel story, but such a well played one. At the start you think you know what will happen, but it doesn't pan out that way at all. As for the whole "evil white men' stick, well the indians weren't treated right, deal with it white people. I think it was a pretty good representation of the times.I am sorry if I offend some people, but you would have to b a complete idiot not to love this one. On of the best horror flicks I have seen since In the Mouth of Madness. HP Lovecraft would be proud!
Great TREMORS wannabe!
posted on 01 Jul 2009After his lover & her family go missing, a young man rally's some help & goes in pursuit of what he & his partners believed to be the culprits, wild natives, but how wrong they are...as it turns out the real culprits are earth burrowing creatures that paralyze their host & then let them die, when the corpses are nice & rotten, they then feast & soon the men realize that they are no match to stop the carnivorous creatures & may soon wind up as dinner unless they can escape. THE BURROWERS is the second film I've seen from director J.T. PETTY (who helmed the truly awful MIMIC 3) & thankfully he managed to make a film that while far from being a classic, manages to entertain & even creep the viewer out throughout it's running time. The acting is well done & the direction is great, J.T. actually makes good use of the atmosphere & manages to trudge up some pretty spooky night time sequences as well. The monster effects are pretty good as well. Recommended to fans of the TREMORS series & those who don't mind a little story to go along with their thrills, just don't go into it expecting the best horror film ever made & you should find yourself enjoying it.*** stars
A Mixed Bag,But Ultimately Worth It.
posted on 05 Jun 2009The first half is a bit dull with it's constantly having the characters (and the viewers) waiting for something to happen.The actor playing the commanding officer of the Indian hunters, fresh off his role as Loonie Bin Jim in Punisher: Warzone, appears to be playing the same person, only with a stiffly waxed fake mustache and an absolutely dreadful fake southern accent.What was the point of making him a Southerner? Any Southerner with an ounce of self respect wouldn't have joined the Army in the years following the war between the states, not until the first world war and the institution of the modern draft. Are Yankee filmmakers trying to rewrite history and lay the mass murder of Indians at the feet of the the South? That's their cross to bear! It was the victorious northerners that did to the Indians what they perfected in the countryside and on the battlefields of the south. I think the only reason he's even in this movie is to get some torture in it to satisfy the low brows.In the last half everything gets better, apparently even the directing! Actual suspense begins to build and the encounters with the Indians begin to become increasingly bizarre. The atmosphere becomes more sinister and the movie begins to take on the aspects of a nightmare in which you can't wake up. The finale is pretty harrowing.Despite my gripes, it's definitely worth viewing and ten times better than those awful and dull After Dark Horrorfest films.
Do yourself a favor: do not miss this one
posted on 22 May 2009It is difficult to come up with new ideas for a horror movie. Perhaps that is why this movie feels like it has elements of many other well-known movies. Regardless of that fact, this movie is a great piece. The plot develops naturally. Characters are well defined. There is no happy ending, but instead an almost poetic one.This is the story of the tough people who made a country, good and bad, and the people they displaced, good and bad as well. Some comments about this movie try to use this forum as a platform for political propaganda (i.e. calling the representation of well documented army history "liberal crap")... do not be fooled. This movie is about story telling, not about political agendas, neither liberal nor conservative.The movie does not show as a low-budget production. Photography is very good, sound is excellent, acting is convincing, the screenplay is engaging... this director is a talented person.Do yourself a favor: do not miss this one.
For a Few Burrows More
posted on 14 Apr 2009For a movie probably pitched as "Tremors in the old West", The Burrowers turned out to be a pleasant surprise, a movie almost better than it has any right to be or at least better than one would expect given its budget and straight-to-DVD status. Unlike the vast majority of western horror hybrids it works so well exactly because it takes its western self as serious, if not more so, than its horror one. Even though it's made like a horror movie, comes with all the generic paraphernalia of one (jump scares, loud sound cues, etc.), and panders to the straight-to-DVD Lionsgate audience more than western loyalists, it still convinces that its western credentials have as much place in it as the horror hijinks, that they're not mere exotic props to be wielded as diversions from the usual clichés of another monster movie. Before the rather forgettable schlock of the finale, the movie has soaked up enough eerie frontier atmosphere of wide open prairies, deserted Indian camps and abandoned wagons, to make the creature feature aspect seem almost redundant. And in doing meets Neil Marshall's The Descent and Dog Soldiers in equal terms. Let's face it, the Old West could be a pretty terrifying place without us having to add supernatural touches to make it scarier 150 years later. This I believe is The Burrowers' greatest success: it earns its horror credentials by remaining serious within its western setting.That's not to say it's gonna win any accolades for originality. But it's competently made sufficiently acted and well lensed to hold together at the seams. If the prospect of a western creature feature sounds like something you would enjoy, The Burrowers will rise to the occasion and try and please. If not then it never had a chance with you. Fans of both westerns and horror (two genres that sadly don't mix as often as they should, still waiting for the filmic equivalent of a Blood Meridian to prove it) will have a ball, traditionalists of either will probably cock an eyebrow.
A Good Subtle Western Horror Movie
posted on 25 Feb 2009This movie begins quietly on the prairie like other great western films with a man profess his love to a woman. A causal viewer would mistaken this as a western love story. Boy, would he or she be surprised. This movie is a cross between "The Searcher", "Days of Heaven", and "Feast". For me, I like the quiet opening of the movie without any loud and overbearing music, and its subtle overtone might strike others as being slow, but for me the subtleness sets up the creepy atmosphere of the film. I love Doug Hutchison's performance as cavalry officer, he gave this film a realistic feel to it, although, I doubt all cavalry officers behaved like him back in the old west days. The monsters which I am sorry to say are the weak point of the movie. Even though, they are scary but not well put together consider this film has some budget that are higher than other horror films. Also, I found the settings of the movie a bit disruptive at the end of the film as the characters went from a prairie setting to a forested mountain setting and back all too quick. It's too bad that this movie didn't see its theatrical release. Perhasp a better title would help.
sick, twisted fun!
posted on 16 Jan 2009I really enjoyed it. It cleverly mixes a Western with a fun creature-feature, striving to keep the best parts of both genres. The way in which the creatures prey on people is very creative and fresh, and allows for some disturbing imagery throughout. The acting, too, helped keep the premise believable, despite how bizarre it starts to get. One of the weaknesses of the film, however, was that it took too long to get going...and felt a little too slow in key parts. The climax, on the other hand, is strong and worth the wait. If you feel like watching an elevated horror film...this is definitely one to keep in mind.
Not bad if you have the patience
posted on 29 Nov 2008This is a Lionsgate film meaning you can expect a low budget and a standard of movie somewhere between total pap and inspired genius.An interesting twist having the Western backdrop to this horror. I thought the movie was OK.It had that true-story feel to it, the way that none of the ends met up and characters would randomly disappear in to the sun-set to follow their own paths. That should be a plus point but I found it a little tiresome.The pace of the movie is incredibly SLOW it ebbs along like a glacia climbing a hill on a hot day.The film is on the cheap-side but Lionsgate films have lots of experience of stretching budgets. Lots of the scenes are set in desert and wilderness with hardly any set and are expertly lit so you feel like you are watching a box office movie.If you get bored easily or just want to kill two hours steer clear of this. If you have the patience it is
Horror western morality tale in a bun
posted on 19 Nov 2008I really wanted to like this film after I warmed to the idea - frontier western meets creature horror; there's something likable about the premise that brought back fond 90s memories of Tremors. The plot synopsis revolves around a small group's attempts to locate the perpetrators of a murdered white family, only to find something much more sinister as their journey progresses.Sounds great right? it is, up to a point; the cinematography and stills are on occasion inventive and far more subtle than the script. With the exception of the hunts moustached anti-semitic leader, who fails valiantly at being threatening, the cast do a passable job.And therein lies the problem; it never really lifts off, but hovers above the grass much like the camera-work. Die-hard horror fans may find the pace to be slow, and the ridiculous cultural stereotypes will only annoy anyone lured by the thought of a 'serious' scary movie. The thrills and scares come a little way in, rendered more creepy than shocking until the finale, which delivers with a small D. The creature effects are rather good, and it was refreshing to see only a partial use of CGI, as well as the inventive fate of the victims. Even with all these likable ideas, it stumbled along to a rather abrupt finish; the lack of character depth (aside from a patronising O-Irish flashback) left me indifferent about the plot holes offered in the final scene. Semi-coherent, inventive, mildly scary...yet boring.My mouth bleeding from being repeatedly bludgeoned with the film's message, I can almost concede to the gross historical inaccuracy that white men caused all our problems and we should learn to get along. It almost made me feel like having a coke.
If Deadwood, Tremors, and Night of the Living Dead had sex, this would be their bastard child!
posted on 24 Oct 2008A surprisingly good film for the horror genre. It's not a truly outstanding film, but it is a fine flick to rent and sip some beers and eat some popcorn while watching. The acting is pretty good in this film save for Doug Hutchison who's a bit over-the-top in his portrayal of the racist army captain. Racial undertones are presented throughout this movie: how whites treat Indians, blacks, and even certain white ethnic groups.This movie is really more of Western that happens to have some horror elements thrown in. Go into it expecting to watch a "cowboys and Indians" film and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Most of the violence in this film is man against man rather than man against monster. The "burrowers" themselves are a bit disappointing once revealed, mostly because of the poor CGI. The final battle is not as satisfying as I thought it would be, but the extremely dark and depressing ending was well done. This film is much better than most straight to DVD releases.7/10
Mediocre story, cool creatures. Medicool flick.
posted on 10 Oct 2008A western horror movie with creatures? Yeah, that's really all you need to know if you want to see this or not. Hey, you may not like it, but at the same time you may love it. I'm in the middle ground.Story revolves around a rescue mission of sorts. The native Americans are blamed and that's where the rescue team is headed. Well, during the pursuit, people are mysteriously disappearing during the night. And what the hell are those weird holes in the ground? And why is the young girl they found not reacting to anything? Find out this and more in The Burrowers.Like I said before, creatures in a western horror movie. That should be enough for you to make up your mind. If it's not enough, I can say that the creatures are pretty cool and the idea behind them is pretty original. But, you don't see them very often, and when you do, occasionally, they're in CGI form, but not always. And when not in CGI form, they look pretty sweet. My biggest gripe with the flick is....anything non-creature related. I just didn't give a damn about any of the rescue mission or the social-commentary or anything. Call me immature, call me a dumby, but hey, I like me some creatures, and these were pretty cool creatures, so it really grabbed all of my attention.The Burrowers was a pretty slick lookin flick, with nice shots of rugged New Mexico, decent music, cool creatures (have I mentioned that??), a gaggle of carefree characters (especially Doug Hutchinson) and a pretty weak ending. The flick is a pretty mixed bag. It's a pretty solid rental, that you may just end up really enjoying. Or not.
1 hr 31 min 35 sec
posted on 14 Sep 20081 hr 31 min 35 sec of my life I will never get back, that is how stupid this movie was. I only registered so that I could actually rate this stupid movie and I am certain that it would have much lower ratings if it were not for that fact that ratings are ONLY counted for registered users here. Snore fest all the way, I went to sleep, then I would hear some action wake up rewind, rewind too far, sleep again, hear action, wake up rewind too far again, decide to wait it out and watch 5 seconds of action, sleep, hear action, wake up, rewind too far again, the process repeated itself over and over again. the ending was so unbelievably stupid that I had to register to this site so I could rate is a 1, but it deserved a 0. If unregistered people were allowed to vote on stupid movies like this, I would have never even seen wasted my time with this movie.
Pausing is the key to get through this
posted on 12 Aug 2009When i started watching this film i didn't expect a masterpiece but rather something pleasant to kill time. I chose this film because it has an actor who i really appreciate but the result was disappointing. I ended up pausing this film so many times that it took me more then four hours to finish it. If you end up watching this movie the only way to see it through is by doing something else at the same time. Read, talk to your friends or whatever... You can also see it in fast-forward or pause it - but this way it will take forever to finish it. The plot was boring and sometimes I got the feeling that something is missing (not that this would save the movie, but it could make it a little more watchable). Also the creatures weren't something interesting. Only the moral of the story was good: Stupid white people.