Those Weren't Indians

In my last post I mentioned JT Petty. He wrote and directed one of the best Weird Westerns I've seen: The Burrowers. It's a Lovecraftian mix of downright nasty, underground-dwelling, killer creatures and a good old-fashioned "find the girl" Western plot. The film looks authentic and takes its task seriously (which I admire, and which is sorely lacking in most of today's horror films). If you don't take your movie seriously, how am I supposed to? Call me crazy, but I go to a horror movie hoping to get scared, shocked, or disgusted. And The Burrowers does all three. The acting is solid all around. The story actually has structure and isn't a strung together series of prepackaged one-liners, dizzying camera shots, and overblown special effects (Jonah Hex, you hear me?). The ending lacks a little oomph. But I enjoyed the ride getting there. Tell your Ma to fire up some Jiffy Pop, because it's a good'un.