J. T. Petty's The Burrowers is a noble attempt to combine the horror and Western genres into what is more commonly known as a "Weird Western." In 1879, a family in the Dakota Territory suddenly disappears one night. Fearing that they might have been captured by Indians, a posse is quickly formed to rescue the missing settlers. However, they soon discover that Indians may not have been the culprits. They start to find still-living bodies buried in the ground. Local Indians whisper rumors of the "burrowers." And every night, more and more members of the posse begin to disappear. I quite enjoyed the first two-thirds of The Burrowers. Before this film, director J. T. Petty gained fame for his work writing the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. His chops as a writer certainly shines through. Much of the dialogue is steady and believable, a difficult task for many trying to write using Old West slang. But unfortunately, the film collapses after during its last third. This being essentially a creature feature, eventually the mysterious "burrowers" would have to make a grand appearance. Too bad that they do so in dark, poorly shot scenes that become so confusing and chaotic that we loose track of the characters. Several times I forgot which characters were being attacked and/or killed. When the film's epilogue played and only one central character was left standing, I felt that I had missed an entire reel of film. This wasn't so much a smash cut as it was a violent hiccup. So the best way that I feel that I can sum up my thoughts on The Burrowers is by saying that it was disappointing. It had a great amount of potential and creativity. But directorial cold feet got the best of it in the end.
6/10
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