Few filmmakers within the last decade have announced themselves quite likeS. Craig Zahler, an idiosyncratic artist known for pushing the boundaries of “extreme cinema.” Zahler certainly earned acclaim for his bone-crushing action thrillerBrawl in Cell Block 99andhis police dramaDragged Across Concrete, but it was his terrifying debut,Bone Tomahawk,that established him as a filmmaker to watch. Prior toBone Tomahawk, Zahler was a fairly prominent novelist and initiallyplanned to adapt his Western novelWraiths of the Broken Land. Although Zahler was unable to put together the finances needed to make his adaptation,Wraiths of the Broken Landwas almost turned into a moviedirected byRidley Scott.
What Happened to the ‘Wraiths of the Broken Land’ Movie?
Wraiths of the Broken Landis a horror-themed western thrillerthatfollows a father and sonwho set out on a journey to uncover two lost sisters trapped within a prostitution ring. During their journey, the family gathers a band of outlaws and ventures into the badlands, where they meet various villains.Wraiths of the Broken Landcertainly had the same dark tone and shocking horror elements evident within many of Zahler’s films, making it a fitting story for him to adapt. But, given that Zahler was an independent filmmaker, the resources needed to do the source material justice were not available to him. Zahler instead turned his focus toBone Tomahawk, which shared a lot of DNA with his plans forWraiths of the Broken Land.His 2015 directorial debut centered on a respected sheriff (Patrick Wilson) who teams up with an experienced lawman (Kurt Russell), a veteran killer (Matthew Fox), and a town doctor (Richard Jenkins) to rescue his wife from a tribe of indigenous cannibals who kidnaped her.
Scott initially planned to makeWraiths of the Broken Landas his next film afterAlien: Covenantbut instead decided to push forward on the true crime thrillerAll the Money in the World. The film was set to starKevin Spaceyas John Paul Getty, a notorious billionaire who refused to pay the ransom for his kidnapped grandson (Charlie Plummer). Scott was under pressure to finish the film, as FX was set to begin airing theDanny Boyle-directed miniseriesTrust, which recounted the same events withDonald Sutherlandas the elder Getty. Additionally,Scott chose to reshoot scenes withChristopher Plummeras Getty in the aftermath of allegations of sexual misconduct made against Spacey. Scott has always been a filmmaker who has worked quickly, andWraiths of a Broken Landbecame lost within a sea of projects trapped in development hell. Scott instead pushed forward on the medieval epicThe Last Dueland the biographical crime dramaHouse of Gucci, both of which were released within a month of each other in the fall of 2021.
Ridley Scott’s Very First Movie Starred His Director Brother, Tony Scott
A heartwarming collab.
Ridley Scott Needs To Make a Western
There isn’t another living filmmakerwho has made more epicsthan Scott, as he has made films set during the Roman Empire (Gladiator), medieval France (The Last Duel), the Crusades (Kingdom of Heaven), ancient Egypt (Exodus: Gods and Kings), the westward expedition (1492: Conquest of Paradise), New York in the 1970s (American Gangster), and the Iraq War (Body of Lies). Surprisingly, Scott has never made a western, but based on his track record, it’s reasonable to believe he could knock one out of the park. While some critics have been more mixed on recent Scott films likeNapoleonandGladiator II, it is impossible to deny that they look excellent and have extraordinary attention to detail.
It would be interesting to see Scott return to make another scary film, as all of Zahler’s workhas a strong element of body horror. Despite mostly focusing on historical epics within the last few decades of his career, Scott directed one of the greatest horror films with the originalAlien. If he were to take on a horror-themed Western likeThe Wraiths of the Broken Land, it would simultaneously return Scott to his roots and allow him to do something he has never done before.
Bone Tomahawk
In the dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff and his posse set out to rescue their town’s doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
Bone Tomahawkis streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix
