The Burrowers - Das Böse unter der Erde

The idea of underground creatures menacing the old west was well portrayed in "Tremors 4". "The Burrowers" adds some interesting twists relating to why these burrowing beasties appeared, and the Indians way of dealing with them. The film opens strong with a slaughtered family, and everyone wrongly blaming the Indians. What follows is a prolonged hunt for the hostiles. Unfortunately character development is sacrificed in favor of hitting the trail. A lot of effort went into the burrower monsters, with not a hint of c.g.i., and unfortunately it is mostly wasted in the barely discernible night attacks. Another glaring problem is the lack of subtitles for the cowboys, as their mumbled jargon is no easier to understand than the Indians language which is subtitled. Somewhere in here is an intriguing movie, but "The Burrowers" obvious flaws are objectionable. - MERK

Basically a Horror Western with heavy overtones of racial morality.

But is it worth watching? Well, in my opinion yes. It has suspense, horror, action and of course - cowboys and Indian's, what more do you want? Monsters? Well it's got them too. And yes, it really is as silly as it sounds. But overall, it's a good flick to rent.

Nothing in this film is top drawer, but it's not far off. The characters are a little over the top with stereotypes, eg. Henry Victor - the Indian hating military commander (quite comical at times, whether this was intentional I don't know), the Irish settler, the 'token' black guy. The overtones of racial morality are present throughout, almost as though this is supposed to be a tale about 'loving thy neighbour'. I can understand why they did this, It's set in the late 1800's and the Indians were the bogeymen at the time, but it's a bit overdone IMO. Anyway, it's not about 'loving thy neighbour' it's about monsters...keeping it real.

Overall, Cowboys, Indians and Monsters (just missing the voluptuous blond I guess). Grab a few beers and rent this film.

6/10

I really enjoyed it. It cleverly mixes a Western with a fun creature-feature, striving to keep the best parts of both genres. The way in which the creatures prey on people is very creative and fresh, and allows for some disturbing imagery throughout. The acting, too, helped keep the premise believable, despite how bizarre it starts to get. One of the weaknesses of the film, however, was that it took too long to get going...and felt a little too slow in key parts. The climax, on the other hand, is strong and worth the wait. If you feel like watching an elevated horror film...this is definitely one to keep in mind.

I actually wanted to rate it a 6 (out of 10), but I liked the ending so much I had to give the movie an extra point. Plus it does dare to be different. And I think it does succeed most of the times, with combining known ingredients and mixing them up. Of course this is a western, but there is more to it than "cowboys and Indians" (much more and no pun intended).

Most of the time we do know more than the main actors. And while we do know, it might feel a bit too slow moving for a few people. Of course I haven't watched the short (look in the movie connections on IMDb) or the web series, that are connected with this. It's a great nice idea though, that has some nice acting and a decent enough plot to follow.

A western horror movie with creatures? Yeah, that's really all you need to know if you want to see this or not. Hey, you may not like it, but at the same time you may love it. I'm in the middle ground.

Story revolves around a rescue mission of sorts. The native Americans are blamed and that's where the rescue team is headed. Well, during the pursuit, people are mysteriously disappearing during the night. And what the hell are those weird holes in the ground? And why is the young girl they found not reacting to anything? Find out this and more in The Burrowers.

Like I said before, creatures in a western horror movie. That should be enough for you to make up your mind. If it's not enough, I can say that the creatures are pretty cool and the idea behind them is pretty original. But, you don't see them very often, and when you do, occasionally, they're in CGI form, but not always. And when not in CGI form, they look pretty sweet. My biggest gripe with the flick is....anything non-creature related. I just didn't give a damn about any of the rescue mission or the social-commentary or anything. Call me immature, call me a dumby, but hey, I like me some creatures, and these were pretty cool creatures, so it really grabbed all of my attention.

The Burrowers was a pretty slick lookin flick, with nice shots of rugged New Mexico, decent music, cool creatures (have I mentioned that??), a gaggle of carefree characters (especially Doug Hutchinson) and a pretty weak ending. The flick is a pretty mixed bag. It's a pretty solid rental, that you may just end up really enjoying. Or not.