SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Fella_shibby I saw this in 2009 n revisited it recently on a DVD which i own. This film is a refreshing mix of creature-feature n the American Old West. The plot - A family is massacred in their homestead n the womenfolk disappeared during the night. A search team is formed to go after the Indians who everyone assumes r the culprits. Comparison with The Searchers n Tremors r inevitable. This film has strong performances and beautiful cinematography. It is a slow burner with building tension and suspense. The creature effects are good, though the lack of budget can be easily spotted. The film is quite tense in places and the attempt at creating something different should be commended. The over exposure of the CG creatures towards the end was a minor flaw. If only such movies r encouraged by good budget.

TheRedDeath30 The obligatory summary....A family goes missing in the "wild west", including a young woman. The young Irish man who has been courting the woman teams up with some other locals and military folk in the belief that natives have kidnapped them and they go off on a search and rescue. As they come to find, the reality is far worse.As stated in my summary, this movie has pretty much everything it could want going for it. That starts with the scenario of setting our horror in the old west. While this has been done a few times before, in general it is rare to find horror put into this setting and I found it refreshing. The setting could have failed completely, though, were it not for the director's deft hand at using it for desolate effect and crafting something unique from the tools of both horror and western film making. There is an obvious love for the western here, too, and it shows in the skilled use of wide landscape shots, abandoned wagons and native villages and prairie homes. The other thing really going for this movie is a fairly unique creature. The hallmark of a good independent horror film is often creating something that is original and not a retread of monsters that Hollywood has dragged through the dirt. Yes, the creatures here certainly have some trace of TREMORS and THE MOLE PEOPLE to them, but ultimately were fresh and creative. The acting in this movie was above par for indie horror, as well, with some good turns from Clancy Brown and William Mapother. The climax of the film is well crafted and provides some good scare moments.So, what goes wrong? Unique setting, unique creature, good acting, good directing. This should be the pathway to a new horror classic, or at the least, a movie that would warrant repeat viewings, but it just doesn't add up right here. Despite the appreciation for the high, lonesome west scene, at times it just feels too drawn out and slow. Despite the unique creatures, when they are revealed in full sight, they leave a little something to be desired (I will admit right out that I am partial to practical effects over bad CGI). Maybe it's the broad characterizations of the token black man, the racist military leader, all the "white men are evil" lecturing. It all starts to feel a little too easily predictable in terms of how the characters are going to react to things.It's so close to being excellent that it shows how often, in film, the slightest things can be the difference between genius and disaster. It's a well-done movie, but probably needed a little more time in the editing room and a little more script work to make it something that would have endured.

sddavis63 A kind of combination Western/Horror flick, "The Burrowers" is set in the 1870's, as a group including both civilians and military set out in search of a family, who appear to have been attacked by local Indians. We the viewers of course know that there's a lot more to the story than that, and as the search goes along, the group encounters more and more mysterious things including - most strangely - unusual holes in the ground. Some of the movie portrays the tension within the group. The military officer in charge is a bit of a tyrant, and there are portrayals of racism (directed mostly toward Indians, although also toward the cook, who's the only black man among them). But the real issue is what happened to the missing family. Eventually, the searchers find a body buried in the ground, but still alive, and when they encounter an Indian woman the story comes out - the kidnappers are really strange creatures known as "the Burrowers" who emerge every three generations and who bury victims and eat them alive.The premise of this movie isn't bad - and the idea of being buried and eaten alive is enough to make anybody squirm. Promising though it may be, however, this just didn't strike me as a particularly exciting or frightening movie. Part of the problem was the Burrowers themselves. We never really did get a good look at them, and what I did manage to see wasn't very effective in filling me with fear. There's a message about the devastation brought by white settlers to North America - the point being made that the Burrowers used to live on buffalo meat, but once white men had slaughtered most of the buffalo, they turned to humans - which honestly struck me as a strange choice, since in that area at that time, there probably would have been other prey in greater abundance than humans. However, message received: settlers did a lot of bad things to the Indians and to the land and there's a price to be paid.To me, the movie kind of fizzled out at the end. I'm not too sure why the Burrowers would simply disintegrate when struck by sunlight - but that seems to be what happened - and, given that there are surely other Burrowers, the ending doesn't resolve anything. A handful of the creatures die, after most of the humans have already perished. But that's all. There really doesn't seem to be anything more to the story than that. (4/10)

bassplace88 A low budget thriller, breathes life into a tired genre. This Western works in providing isolation that all great horror movies have. Though you won't jump out of your skin, you will feel tense and uneasy. You can make comparisons to vampire fare, the Descent, and Tremors, to name a few. With a few tweaks to the story, you have something unique and interesting. Although not entirely a new concept, the humanoids can be the bigger monster. There is poetic justice based on this concept, stemming from altering the creatures feeding habits to racism getting in the way of finding the answers. The way the creatures feed is unique and plays into common human fears. Creature design and effects are acceptable and above par for the budget. The only real technical issue, moments of low dialogue levels. I boosted the center channel, lowered my front left and right speakers on my sound system and left the subtitles on. Keep your expectations in check, and you will come out pleasantly surprised.