Set in the Dakota territories in 1879, this is an unusually subtle horror-western from a filmmaker (J.T. Petty) with considerable, growing promise. Indians are suspected when the intended wife of an Irish immigrant vanishes after her family are brutally attacked. Some experienced Indian-fighters and the Irish ranch hand himself join a motley crue of folks on a mission to rescue the woman, but they discover a much more dangerous threat lurking out there in the dark. That being ancient creatures who hitherto fed on buffalo but, now those are scarce thanks to white men, have taken to paralyzing humans with their poison, before burying them alive and devouring their “soft parts”.
Petty’s movie is old-fashioned in many ways, with its careful framing, beautiful widescreen cinematography, unhurried pacing and delayed unveiling of its ghoulish monsters. Joseph Lo Duca’s evocative score also adds old-school ambience to a creature feature set against a brutal depiction of the Old West : blood spurts from nasty throat wounds and horses fall in spurts of gore.
It’s a refreshing movie in its unpredictability. Petty takes a cue from early Romero as he sets up characters as key protagonists before harshly ending their lives when we least expect it. The dark irony of the ending is also very much in the tradition of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE CRAZIES.
Aside from excellent casting choices of dependable character players like Doug Hutchison (evil as ever) and Clancy Brown, the movie has a keen sense of the ghoulish : check out the slightly twitching toes that indicate creature-victims, buried alive and paralyzed by deadly goo spat at them, are still alive in the ground.
The monsters themselves are cool and fascinating : slithering around like giant humanoid worms, they are particularly impressive when represented as practical FX by Robert Hall. When rendered in CGI for portions of the final reel, their effectiveness is sapped a tad – but Petty is wise enough to not over-expose them and thus pulls off the movie.
-Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
