TIFF Review: The Burrowers

JT Petty’s The Burrowers really should be a bit better than it actually is. The idea of combining the western and horror genres is quite intriguing and Petty has a good basis for a strong movie but unfortunately he falls a bit short with its implementation. Many times throughout the week I have heard over and over how The Burrowers takes The Searchers and combines it with Tremors. While this comparison is true at the most basis level it really does not live up to such comparisons.

When making a comparison with The Searchers one can not help but think of John Wayne’s bigoted cowboy. In The Burrowers instead of having the main hero be an anti hero we meet a violent racist captain in the army. In many ways this takes an interesting concept and waters it down to the point of being forgettable. What JT Petty should have done was to have at least one of the three main cowboys, Coffey (Karl Geary), Parcher (William Mapother) or the rancher (Clancy Brown) take on a similar role to that of John Wayne in The Searchers.

The other comparison has been with the movie Tremors. This comparison can really only be made because the monsters of both movies travel under the ground. When you make this comparison you are not giving enough credit to Tremors good sense of humour as the humour is sorely lacking here. The Burrowers is not meant to be a light fun horror movie. It is quite dark and I do not see this necessarily as a negative but when the comparison is made then the expectation will be there.

While it may sound like I am being fairly harsh on this movie it is only because of the comparisons which have been constantly made. The Burrowers has some very good points that should allow me to recommend it. It is a beautifully shot movie and does not fall into the trap that some westerns do when they linger just too long on the horizon and scenery shots. The acting is top notch from everyone involved. The premise of the movie is very interesting and finally the special effects are top notch as it relies on a combination of both practical and CGI effects.

Overall though there is nothing too memorable about Petty’s The Burrowers but on the other hand you could do a lot worse. With a few changes to the characters and a little bit more delving into the racial tension The Burrowers would have been an excellent movie. As it is though I would really only recommend this one to die hard fans who would like to see a mixing up of the western and horror genres.

TIFF Review: Appaloosa

Ed Harris’ directorial sophomore project Appaloosa is an excellent example of what a popcorn movie should be. It is fairly light when it comes to meaning and importance but it sure is a lot of fun with some good action and its fair share of well timed humour. In the long run it will not be the most memorable movie but it was fun and you could definitely do a lot worse.

Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are Virgil and Everett, two law men who provide their services to towns for a cost. They arrive in the small town of Appaloosa to take up the mantle of sheriff and deputy after Bragg played by Jeremy Irons guns down the previous sheriff and deputies. Every thing seems to be going as planned, Virgil and Everett gun down a few of Bragg’s men and get ready for the confrontation with Bragg himself. Then Rene Zellweger at Allison arrives on the train and catches the attention of both Virgil and Everett. What we are left with is the eventual arrest and confrontation between Bragg, his hired henchmen, Virgil and Everett and the possible disagreement between Virgil and Everett.

The whole romance triangle could have played out in the staid standard way but Harris and the script manage to throw in enough twists that you won’t see coming to Appaloosa and charming and fun western. The action is well done and are combined with a good sense of humour. It was a nice joy to catch something a bit lighter and fun in my dark genre filled schedule here at TIFF.

As one final comment on Appaloosa, it was great to see Lance Henriksen and Timothy Spall show up in smaller supporting roles.