Rank his films
For me Zahler is the most exciting new director in movies these days. I would rank his first three films like this:
1. Bone Tomahawk - a spectacular genre mash of a film that is thrilling from the first scene and topped off by a career best performance from Kurt Russell. A complete original.
2. Dragged Across Concrete - Very nearly an equal first with the above, this is like a less adolescent brother of a Tarantino film. Blistering dark humour coupled with a slow-burning plot that builds excitement in spite of its pace. Also has another fantastic central performance from an 80s icon with Mel Gibson’s restrained, yet compelling take on a character that mirrors his personal dramas to fantastic effect.
3. Brawl in Cell Block 99 - I see this has garnered the most critical praise, and while it’s no doubt a heart-stopping thrill ride, for me personally it was too violent to be as entertaining as Zahler’s other two films. The extreme and extremely gory violence was physically sickening which put a downer on what is otherwise a top shelf prison film with a revelatory lead performance from the underrated Vince Vaughan.
I’ll certainly be first in line for whatever Zahler cooks up next. The guy is a total maverick 👍