it always goes back to the settler's killing off all the buffalo don't it

it always goes back to the settler's killing off all the buffalo don't it

An unfortunately very rare mix of the Horror and Western genre, that unfortunately suffers from mixed, sometimes sloppy directing and performances. At its best it’s a gritty and thrilling experience, almost up to the level of something like Bone Tomahawk, but at its worst The Burrowers feels a bit cheap and amateurish.

An unfortunately very rare mix of the Horror and Western genre, that unfortunately suffers from mixed, sometimes sloppy directing and performances. At its best it’s a gritty and thrilling experience, almost up to the level of something like Bone Tomahawk, but at its worst The Burrowers feels a bit cheap and amateurish.

i don’t like western movies or alien movies so i kinda screwed myself here

i don’t like western movies or alien movies so i kinda screwed myself here

Absolute bummer of a movie, no hope and no future.

Absolute bummer of a movie, no hope and no future.

The special effects in this movie bring down an otherwise pleasant surprise.

I imagine this must have looked great on paper, "Alien in the Old West", or something to that effect, since the writing does the most to enliven things. Whereas most horror-western hybrids fail because of their lack of conviction in either genre, THE BURROWERS takes both paradigms as serious as possible. Despite the generic horror tropes on display (jump scares, quiet-quiet-BANG routines) and the inevitable schlock near the climax, the film holds true to its western principles nicely in addition to the horror inherent in the eerie, empty landscapes. Preceding the much-better BONE TOMAHAWK by some years, this film owes more the terrors of THE DESCENT or even RAVENOUS, as evidenced by its stripped-down claustrophobia and admittedly-clever creature design. If we're being honest, the Old West by itself is scary enough without any monsters and just like the tunnels of THE DESCENT or the cannibalism of BONE TOMAHAWK or RAVENOUS, the ripe setting does wonders for this film's credibility.

That being said, THE BURROWERS is not the most revolutionary of concepts, but for a Lionsgate straight-to-video feature, it's adequately put together and shot. Aside from the aforementioned poor CGI, the film also suffers from the fact that some of the acting, especially Hutchison (yuck) is dialed up to an unnecessary level and I couldn't help but feel the film dragged in multiple sections. I do appreciate THE BURROWERS making a concerted efforts to appeal to genre fans, but alas, it is just not as good as it should be, or frankly could have been in alternate hands. Still had a minor good time with it.

The special effects in this movie bring down an otherwise pleasant surprise.

I imagine this must have looked great on paper, "Alien in the Old West", or something to that effect, since the writing does the most to enliven things. Whereas most horror-western hybrids fail because of their lack of conviction in either genre, THE BURROWERS takes both paradigms as serious as possible. Despite the generic horror tropes on display (jump scares, quiet-quiet-BANG routines) and the inevitable schlock near the climax, the film holds true to its western principles nicely in addition to the horror inherent in the eerie, empty landscapes. Preceding the much-better BONE TOMAHAWK by some years, this film owes more the terrors of THE DESCENT or even RAVENOUS, as evidenced by its stripped-down claustrophobia and admittedly-clever creature design. If we're being honest, the Old West by itself is scary enough without any monsters and just like the tunnels of THE DESCENT or the cannibalism of BONE TOMAHAWK or RAVENOUS, the ripe setting does wonders for this film's credibility.

That being said, THE BURROWERS is not the most revolutionary of concepts, but for a Lionsgate straight-to-video feature, it's adequately put together and shot. Aside from the aforementioned poor CGI, the film also suffers from the fact that some of the acting, especially Hutchison (yuck) is dialed up to an unnecessary level and I couldn't help but feel the film dragged in multiple sections. I do appreciate THE BURROWERS making a concerted efforts to appeal to genre fans, but alas, it is just not as good as it should be, or frankly could have been in alternate hands. Still had a minor good time with it.