During a shootout in a saloon, Sheriff Hunt injures a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, wife of the local foreman, tends to him in prison. That night, the town is attacked and they both disappear—only the arrow of a cannibal tribe is found. Hunt and a few of his men go in search of the prisoner and the foreman's wife.
Writing
Slow-burn dialogue that Tarantino wishes he wrote.
Practical Effects
Gore so visceral you'll swear it's 1985 again.
Acting
Richard Jenkins steals every scene with heartbreaking earnestness.
Director
S. Craig Zahler
Kurt Russell
Sheriff Franklin Hunt
Patrick Wilson
Arthur O'Dwyer
Richard Jenkins
Chicory
Matthew Fox
John Brooder
Lili Simmons
Samantha O'Dwyer
David Arquette
Purvis
Fred Melamed
Clarence
Evan Jonigkeit
Nick
Sid Haig
Buddy
Maestro Harrell
Gizzard
James Tolkan
Pianist
Kathryn Morris
Lorna Hunt
Zahn McClarnon
The Professor
Michael Emery
Redheaded Fellow
Jeremy Tardy
Buford
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'troglodytes' were played by professional wrestlers and contortionists to achieve their unnatural movements.
Zahler deliberately avoided Native American consultation, framing the cannibals as a degenerate offshoot to sidestep exploitation debates—a choice that aged poorly.
US
GB
