15 Best Films Of 2016 (So Far)

The western's had a proper resurgence recently, with The Salvation, Slow West, The Hateful Eight and The Revenant all showing just what the long-declared-dead genre has to offer. But the best of the lot is Bone Tomahawk, the violent horror mash-up starring Kurt Russell.

The ensemble (on top of Russell, there's Patrick Wilson and Matthew Fox at their best) ensure a proper straight drama, but as we see in the undead opening there's something more insidious at work in the background. Worry mounts until halfway through the film you're filled with this unshakable dread; we're ostensibly just following the men on a trek across a desolate landscape, but the film's visual language keys you in that there's something unspeakable lurking out here. Things only get worse, building to one of the most horrific kills I've ever seen on film; viscerally realised with S. Craig Zahler refusing to cut, this show-stopping scene is made all the darker by Russell obviously lying in an attempt to offset the victim's pain.

And that's the most hurtful thing - thematically Bone Tomahawk is just as brutal as any of its razor-sharp violence. This may be a high-class B-movie, yet it manages to explore disturbing elements of the human psyche better than any of this year's Oscar movies (including the fellow westerns that place highly on this list. It's ultimately about futility, how even the most perfect life can be ripped apart in an instant and that no matter our opposing views, we all ultimately face the same fate. To have such an unflinching, direct take on a difficult subject, presented in such a enthralling movie, is an incredible achievement.

What's your favourite movie of 2016 so far? Share your picks down in the comments.