Why Bone Tomahawk's Most Hated Character Is Its Real Hero

When I first heard a horror author describe Bone Tomahawk as one of the precious few “true horror” movies made in the modern era, I was intrigued by the description. The trailer read like a Western to me. Kurt Russell in a sheriff's vest, cowboys riding into wilderness, and of course the title itself. Whatever else this thing was, it looked like a Western. The horror framing felt off, like someone selling tickets to the wrong show.

I watched it, I think, for no other reason than to have an informed and intelligent-sounding rebuttal to the creator’s assessment. Though having seen it twice now (there’s simply too much to soak in for one viewing), I must agree with the classification, even if it only applies to the third act. That being said, the horror framing was not the most interesting thing about the movie. And neither was the joy at seeing Kurt Russell playing a western lawman once again.

Bone Tomahawk is a Western that takes seriously the question of what men are capable of when civilization thins out, and the answer it gives is the one audiences don't want.

The setup is simple. In 1890s frontier country, a cannibal tribe attacks the town of Bright Hope in the night and disappears into the wilderness with three of the townspeople, including Samantha O'Dwyer, the town's nurse. Sheriff Hunt (Russell) assembles a rescue party of four: himself, Chicory the back-up deputy (played by Richard Jenkins), Arthur O'Dwyer (played by Patrick Wilson), riding on a broken leg to retrieve his wife, and John Brooder (played by Matthew Fox). They ride out, determined to bring back Mrs. O'Dwyer and the missing deputy.

Like all movies, this one has a hero. Critics and casual viewers will tell you the hero is Sheriff Hunt. But I almost regret to inform you that the hero of Bone Tomahawk is John Brooder, the dandy gunslinger in the four-piece suit. Though I suspect not even the scriptwriter noticed.

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The Mission Isn’t Possible without Brooder

In the scene after the town realizes Mrs. O’Dwyer has been taken, the initial party Hunt assembles is nothing short of embarrassing. This is a small town, and all of the roughneck men with the means to help have already left for work on the railroad and driving cattle. Hunt has to work with what he has, and he selects three men… who we know will probably end up dead.

O'Dwyer is going because his wife is gone, and he'll drag a splinted leg through every mile of country between Bright Hope and the caves to get her back. The man is admirable, obviously deeply in love with his wife. And he’s strong and capable too… when he’s ambulatory. But right now, he’s not in operational shape, hence why he’s still in town at all.