The Western is one of the core genres that have proved infinitely adaptable across the history of film.
In quick succession, cinemas will receive the latest revisionist version of the Old West, in the shape of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and Bone Tomahawk, both finding a starring role for cult hero Kurt Russell.
This film continues the thread of rescue Westerns such as Rio Bravo and The Searchers. Russell plays the sheriff of a small town maruaded by cannibals. He is charged with retrieving three citizens carried off by the atavistic hordes.
With a healthy dose of horror (and production design that has shades of Mad Max: Fury Road in its warped tribalism), this film also plays with digressive humour that marks the modern Western (the Coens’ True Grit). Living up to its forebears, it also features a memorable score and widescreen cinematography.