The Burrowers (2008) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The Burrowers formerly hunted buffalo, but white settlement nearly wiped out the herds. With their traditional food source destroyed, the creatures were forced to prey on humans for survival. Faith explains this shift as a direct consequence of westward expansion displacing wildlife.

• burrowers
• buffalo
• settlement
• food source
• native explanation

The Burrowers paralyze victims with a toxin delivered through injury, then bury them alive underground. They wait for the body to decompose before feeding on the flesh. This explains why Spacks is left buried alive after being slashed across the neck.

• burrowers
• toxin
• paralyze
• buried alive
• feeding method

Maryanne Stewart was taken by the Burrowers and killed. The Ute later possession of a brooch that Coffey had given her confirms her fate. She did not survive the initial attack or the subsequent days in captivity.

• maryanne stewart
• brooch
• ute
• death
• taken

Clay deserts Victor because he is disgusted by Victor's distrust and mistreatment of Native people, particularly the torture of the Sioux captive for information. Clay, along with Coffey, Parcher, Spacks, and Callaghan, decides to continue the search independently without the military presence.

• john clay
• victor
• desert
• native
• torture

The holes are burrows dug by the Burrowers - underground lairs from which they hunt and store paralyzed victims. They appear around the Stewart house after the attack, marking the creatures' territory and indicating they are digging to reach the surface to hunt.

• holes
• burrowers
• stewart homestead
• underground
• lair

Coffey discovers that direct sunlight is fatal to the Burrowers. When he stakes the paralyzed creatures to the ground at dawn, the rising sun kills them. This reveals the creatures are vulnerable to UV exposure and prefer to hunt and operate in darkness.

• sunlight
• weakness
• dawn
• uv
• coffey discovery

The Ute have killed Burrowers in the past and crafted a necklace from their victims' beads. Coffey recognizes his own brooch among these beads, proving that Maryanne was killed by the Burrowers and that the Ute had previously encountered and slain some of the creatures.

• ute
• brooch
• necklace
• maryanne
• proof of death

Spacks remains buried alive after being paralyzed by the Burrowers. In the final moments, the creatures begin feasting on him while he is still alive, leaving him to a brutal death. He is the last victim shown being consumed by the Burrowers.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Spacks was buried alive during the Burrower ambush after escorting the catatonic woman.

• spacks
• buried alive
• devoured
• final fate
• victim

When Coffey returns after tracking the Ute, he finds Faith and the captured Ute hanged, with Callaghan dead from his amputated leg. Victor blames the Native people for the deaths, falsely accusing them of the killings despite the Burrowers being the actual culprits.

• victor
• faith
• ute
• hanged
• blame natives

The Burrowers paralyze victims with their toxin to prevent escape while they dig burial chambers underground. The toxin keeps victims immobile but conscious, allowing the creatures to store live prey that will decompose slowly in the dark underground environment.

• burrowers
• toxin
• paralyze
• underground
• store prey

The Burrowers deliver their paralyzing toxin through injuries, typically slashing across the neck or throat area. This allows the toxin to enter the bloodstream quickly, rendering victims immobile within seconds while the creatures prepare to bury them alive.

• neck wound
• toxin delivery
• paralysis
• attack method

Coffey shoots one of the Ute when he discovers they have captured Parcher and are using him as bait to lure the Burrowers. Coffey believes the Ute are responsible for taking Parcher and possibly for Maryanne's death, so he attacks them to rescue Parcher.

• coffey
• ute
• parcher
• shot
• mistake

Victor tortures the captive to learn who attacked the Stewart family. The captive warns about the Burrowers, describing them as creatures that eat human flesh, but Victor and his men misunderstand, thinking the captive is referring to a hostile Native tribe rather than supernatural monsters.

• victor
• torture
• sioux
• captive
• burrowers warning

After Clay is killed and the group is being pursued, the survivors burn poison oak to create thick smoke and an irritant barrier that deters the Burrowers. The smoke conceals their escape and the plant's toxins create an uncomfortable environment that keeps the creatures at bay temporarily.

• poison oak
• smoke
• escape
• deter
• barrier