NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

lathe-of-heaven This is one of those films where I need to balance how I personally felt about it, with trying to be objective about how well it was made. Something I might add, MOST people do not do.First off, this really isn't quite my kind of Horror film. I DO like the concept of the Horror / Western just fine, so it isn't that at all. I guess what put me off, and again this is just my personal taste, is the overall downer tone of the movie. Like I said in my Summary, it has a pretty heavy nihilistic tone; in my lowly and wretched opinion, there just aren't really any truly 'enjoyable' moments in this movie to be found anywhere.But... you can see that clearly by some of the other reviews and discussion comments here, that many REALLY did like this film. So, I think that if this TYPE of Horror film is your cup of tea, so to speak, then you probably will like it.I will do my best to be objective and give what I feel are the strong and weak parts of the film. Overall, it was technically pretty well made. The look and the photography were very good. I, myself, was kind of put off by some of the dialog and most of the acting. I'm not saying that it was necessarily BAD, but I really didn't like the style that the director brought out in the actors; it just struck me as a BIT amateurish, especially considering the caliber of the actors that were in this movie. I just didn't quite get the feel that the director was really bringing out the very best from these otherwise experienced and good actors, and the net effect, to me anyway, was that the resulting performances were somewhat trite and clichéd. Not horrible, mind you, but I feel that perhaps a different director could have REALLY tightened up the tone and performances CONSIDERABLY, thus much more powerfully engaging the audience and drawing them into the film, instead of giving us the feeling that we were just uninvolved bystanders. I hope that that makes some kind of sense.Again though, I think that it is likely that many people will not be nearly as 'fussy' as I am about this aspect of the acting / directing, and will simply be able to enjoy it for what it is. A moderately scary Horror / Western.The tension and suspense were also very well done (however, I feel that some of the performances detracted from this) The basic story moved along at a decent pace and towards the latter scenes where the monsters really let loose, there are indeed some pretty decent Horror elements.I for one, do not personally care for this kind of casual nihilistic approach to film making, whether it is Horror or otherwise. Just not my kind of thing. So, without entering true Spoiler territory, I will say that with this in mind, I did NOT appreciate the last bit shown at the very end. NOT my thing, DIDN'T like it, and I did NOT think it was cute. What the hell is the purpose served by that...? Is the audience supposed to 'Get Off' on it and derive some kind of sadistic pleasure from it...? Like I say, quite DEFINITELY NOT my thing... But, to others who get 'Into' that kind of style, which seems to be born out by some of the discussions concerning the ending, it appears that a number of people really do like this movie and it's ending and think it's pretty 'Cool'.So, as you can likely tell; I personally didn't really enjoy the film that much. But, I have tried to be fair and balanced, and I've tried to rate it and review it as far as the merits of the film itself, especially taking into consideration that there ARE a lot of people who like movies like this. The overall idea and concept are very good; and perhaps if the director were a bit more experienced and / or talented, and if the performances had been better, then I feel that the movie could almost have been a Classic...I would say from my standpoint that if you are like me, and you prefer a little more cleverness in your Horror films, or perhaps a bit more subtlety or maybe a more nuanced atmosphere, then you may not enjoy the movie that much. BUT... if you just like your Horror movies straight up, and don't mind a nihilistic or sadistic bent to them, then you may very well be entertained by it...

Spikeopath The Burrowers is written and directed by J.T. Petty. It stars William Mapother, Sean Patrick Thomas, Clancy Brown, Laura Leighton, Doug Hutchison, Karl Geary and Robert Richard. Music is by Joseph LoDuca and cinematography by Phil Parmet.August the 11th 1879, the Dakota territories, and after a family of pioneers are abducted a posse is formed and go off in search of the culprits. It is believed they have fallen prey to hostile Native Americans, but once out in the wilds the truth hits home and the posse find themselves in a brutal and bloody fight for survival.It's not like Tremors! That wonderful homage to the B movie creature features of the 1950s is played for laughs and action thrills. The Burrowers admittedly on plot synopsis' does lend one to think that a fun packed creature feature is in the offering, but as many unaware film fans have found out, this is far from being the case.I would rather walk in the right direction than ride with my head up my ass.The Burrowers takes itself seriously, and not insultingly so. J.T. Petty wanted to make a Horror/Western but not in the schlocky sense. He even infuses the narrative with some human concerns and statements, ecologically and racially so.The pace is very, very deliberate, so potential first time viewers need to take that into consideration. Once the plot is kick started in the opening salvo, the posse go out into the wilds and interact, for better and worse, dialogue is sharp and pointed, intelligent even.A number of great character based scenes are setting the tone for what is a downbeat picture, while when the action comes in tantalising spurts, it's well marshalled by Petty, and it's not just all about the creatures either.The look is of a classical Western, which considering the modest budget is quite some achievement. From costuming and props, to the colour palette, the film convinces as the Old West of 1879. In this regard it would have been very interesting to have seen Petty make a standalone Oater.Practical effects are very decent and CGI is wisely used sparingly, though the big showdown at pic's end is something of a let down. Elsewhere Sir Clancy of Brown and Doug The Thug Hutchison are sadly under written, though the face fuzz department scores high marks!A tricky one to recommend to either Horror or Western fans, but for atmosphere and a great sense of period - and no little amount of originality as well, it's worth checking out as long as you don't expect Tremors. 7/10

HorrorInside Here is a cliff notes version of my review....At first I was leery about a Horror movie based in the 'old west', but as I read some of the reviews, I decided to give it a chance. After the opening scene (which had me pondering with what had just attacked them), it dragged for a bit (for me anyways) and I was wondering when it would pick back up again. Had some so-so gun fights, some nice, bloody scenes. But then we finally got to see the 'burrowers' and I was REALLY disappointed. Had they not looked like overgrown, mutated grasshoppers, then I might have liked the concept of an underground, burrowing creature. The story behind the burrowers was just okay at best, with how they feed. Cut them, 'puke' in the wound to paralyze them, then bury them (alive) until they start to rot before eating them, lovely.As my summary states "In a Nutshell".... I gave this movie a 6 based solely on the acting and what blood there was that we got to see, very little. I can't say that I will be adding this to my DVDs anytime.... period. It was okay one time around, but that's about it for me.

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).