"The Burrowers," or, as I like to call it, "John Ford's The Thing" (or is it "John Carpenter's The Searchers"?), blends the horror and western genres together so well, it's a wonder why it has not done more often.

I know the western has been put on life support quite often in the past, but if you can't get Russell Crowe to star, it seems like a pack of subterranean mutant carnivores could do in a pinch.

Boasting an impressive B-list cast, a sharp eye behind the lens and a script that, while familiar, still understands the art of character development, "The Burrowers" is one of the more distinguished American-made DTV horror films to hit the shelves in quite a while.

It's just too bad the suck-ass marketing department saddled it with one of the most uniteresting titles and cover art since Steven Seagal decided to go Out for a Kill.

The underground beasts, which are named after an acient Indian legend of flesh-munching man-maggots, make an early (unseen) visit, then quickly disappear for about the first half of the film.

This is when the casual horror buff would typically FF until the first spurt of blood. But those with patience will be treated to a deliberately paced thriller not seen since the slow-mounting horror heyday of the 70s, and just enough gore and ghouls to satisfy your bloodlust.
 

Plot made simple: young man looking for his love joins a search party to find her, thinking she's been abducted by Indians.

One by one, they realize just how wrong they are.

Standouts include Clancy Brown as the grizzled veteran, Sean Patrick Thomas as the emancipated slave/cook, and Doug Hutchinson as the determined young man whose loved and

lost William Mopather, aka the Homliest Cruise, is also along for the ride along with other bait, er, I mean characters preparing to dig up these destructive demons.

Some have complained about the look of the creatures, but realizing the budget limitations of such a film, I found these spindly little suckers to be quite effective.

.While Lionsgate deserves a good ass-paddling for its packaging, it does earn points for giving this a shot rather than letting Ulli Lommel continue to infect thier release schedule like the oozing, pus-encrusted cinematic carbuncle that he is.

For those who have the patience and enjoy a sweet mosey instead of a full-speed gallop to their films, "The Burrowers" will eventually get under your skin by the final act.

Some have complained about the look of the creatures, but realizing the budget limitations of such a film, I found these spindly little suckers to be quite effective.