...especially given its pitiful rating here on the IMDb, "The Burrowers" is an engaging Western creature feature with far more brains than it seems to have been given credit for. Apparently adapted from a Fearnet mini-series, this E.C. Comics-ish tale defies its minuscule ($7mil) budget with some fine camera-wrangling by Phil "The Devil's Rejects" Parmet, an effectively evocative score from Joseph "The Evil Dead" LoDuca, fine ensemble work from its cast (including William "Lost" Mapother, Sean Patrick "The Fountain" Thomas, Doug "The Green Mile" Hutchison, Karl "Coney Island Baby" Geary, and Clancy "Starship Troopers" Brown---look also for a brief appearance by Jocelin "The House of the Devil" Donahue), and a delightfully intelligent script from director/writer J.T. "Faces of Death" Petty. The pace of things is leisurely, which may dissuade the ADHD crowd, and the critter fx are at times a bit dodgy (but still mostly satisfying), and the ending may feel a bit anti-climactic, but for the patient viewer, there is much to be enjoyed, including some nice dark humor and unexpected happenings. Not quite deserving of cult status, but heads above much of the dreck that passes for horror movies these days.
Review of The Burrowers
