When a ferocious band of cannibalistic marauders invade a small
Western village, killing a stable boy and kidnapping a nefarious prisoner, the
town doctor, and a deputy, the stoic sheriff (Kurt Russell), his faithful absentminded
assistant (Richard Jenkins), a boastful stranger (Matthew Fox), and the practitioner’s
resolute husband (Patrick Wilson) embark on an arduous rescue mission through
the unforgiving, unforged terrain and into the savages’ den. S. Craig Zahler’s unsung
Western is well conceived and expertly filmed, impressively changing its
leisurely pace to one of intensity and horror. I only took issue with the
extreme violence of the finale. Though not without effect, it feels out of
place and borrowed from a lesser movie. The cast is immensely appealing.
*** ½ out of ****
