Bones - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Bones



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
The early 2000’s kind of saw the decline of the general horror genre as a big money maker like it was during the 80s and early 90s. By the year 2001 Freddy, Jason and Michael Meyers has pretty much been tapped out, and New Line executives were looking for the next big thing to staple a franchise onto. I’m not sure what genius sat down and said “hey, why don’t we make rapper Snoop Dogg into a horror icon?”, but I guess someone listened, because 2001 was the year we got the horror cheese fest known as Bones. However the film really tanked at the box office, pretty much confirming that it was a good idea to bury the “franchise” and just leave this as a one off, condemning the film to be stuck on every bargain bin DVD New Line ever put out post 2001.

Back in 1979 well loved pimp Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg) was the gentle villain with a heart of gold. He kept crack from entering his neighborhoods, kept the girls well fed and away from scumbags, and was more than content to rule the streets. However, some of his subordinates didn’t feel that way, and in a business deal with a potential business partner at his pad, things go DEADLY awry. Murdered in his own home and buried underneath it, the corpse of Jimmy Bones is forgotten except in rumors and myth.

Fast forward 22 years and a group of young adults come to the projects and decide to make a night club out of the abandoned building that no one wants anything to do with. Patrick (Khalil Kain) wants to make his father proud by buying up the old dump and turning it into a business, but little does Patrick know that his father Jeremiah (Clifton Powell) is actually one of the 4 people who murdered Jimmy. As they say, sleeping dogs are best left alone, and when Patrick and his friends unleash the spirit of Jimmy Bones once more, they find out that the deceased pimp is holding a bit of a grudge against those who put him there, and would definitely like to reacquaint himself after all these years.

Director Ernest Dickerson creates a sort of euro gothic horror film in terms of the mood and ambiance, but the slap dash editing and wonky writing leave it as a very pretty looking picture, but not much else. According to the special features Dickerson claims that the studio suits hacked up his film in the editing room and shortened it dramatically trying to chase that 90 minute sweet spot, but ended up cutting key components of the film in the process. The result is a film that has a hard time being anything but a moderately entertaining visual horror film. The scenes feel disjointed and don’t flow well together, with some scenes just shifting mid shot and leaving the entire thing feeling rushed. I have no idea how much of the claim that studio suits were to blame, but it WOULD make sense if you look at the choppy flow.

Acting wise probably Pam Grier comes out the best looking. The queen of blaxploitation films is no Meryl Streep, but the veteran actress does a great job as Jimmy’s ex girlfriend. The boys like Patrick and his friend are solid enough, but Snoog Dogg is hilariously bad, as he really can only play himself in ANYTHING he does. A stoned rapper who’s totally “cool man”. It is what it is. I know New Line wanted a new horror icon to string along for another 3-6 movies, but this thing was doomed from the moment they cast Snoop Dogg, and it doesn’t get any better from there.




Rating:

Rated R for violence/gore, language, sexuality and drugs




Video:

Bones comes to Blu-ray with a very nice looking 1080p transfer that was supposedly given a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, and the results are pretty stinking good over the old Newline Cinemas DVD from the early 2000s. Facial details and backgrounds look great, and the grain structure looks really clean 95% of the time. There’s a few scenes where you get some really thick grain going on (the scene with Pearl and Shotgun standing outside as the house burns is a major one), but overall it’s a very nice looking. Colors are warm and natural, except for the period piece shots that bring us back to the 1970s when Jimmy Bones was alive, which shows off a softer and more yellowed look to it. The black levels are very solid, with good shadow detail and I didn’t notice more than a few flickering scenes that had any noticeable banding in it.



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Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track on the disc is a solid worker, and while it’s not a top of the line mix, it does everything quite well. Atmosphere is creepy and surround filled, with the creaking of the old house, screams echoing all around, and even a thumping good time with the club scene. Dialog is always good, but the track itself is mixed a little bit low, so you’ll need to bump it up 3-4 decibels in order to get maximum enjoyment out of it. The bass is solid as well, adding some low end thump to the club music as well as a few bumps and bangs all around. The 5.1 mix is good, never great, but always solidly good with the atmospheric and creepy film.







Extras:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• NEW Building Bones – An Interview With Director Ernest Dickerson
• NEW Bringing Out The Dead – An Interview With Co-screenwriter Adam Simon
• NEW Urban Underworld – An Interview With Director Of Photography Flavio Labiano
• NEW Blood N Bones – An Interview With Special Makeup Effects Artist Tony Gardner
• Audio Commentary With Actor Snoop Dogg, Ernest Dickerson, And Adam Simon
• Digging Up Bones
• Urban Gothic: Bones And It's Influences
• Deleted Scenes With Optional Director's Commentary
• Dogg Named Snoop Music Video
• Theatrical Press Kit With Behind-The-Scenes Footage
• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score:
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Director Ernest Dickerson states that the film really isn’t HIS film at all, but a studio film. It was supposedly cut up and re-edited by people above his pay grade, and the end result is not the movie he wanted to make. I honestly can’t say if this is the truth (who knows if he’s telling the truth or not), but the film really is a bit incoherent and times, and seems more like it’s trying to sell the rap sound track more than make a good horror movie. While New Line Cinema wanted to make Jimmy Bones into a recurring franchise character like Chucky, Freddy and Jason, it’s a one off film with Snoop Dogg not getting the chance to come back as the undead pimp Jimmy Bones. The Blu-ray is good, with solid audio and video, but an AMAZING array of extras that should put it into collector’s edition status for Scream Factory. Decent watch for horror fans, but it’s not a film I’d say to go out and buy for the non fans.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, Michael T. Weiss, Clifton Powell, Ricky Harris, Bianca Lawson, Khalil Kain, Merwin Mondesir
Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson
Written by: Adam Simon, Tim Metcalfe
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 31st, 2020

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Todd Anderson]

pass

 

[Michael Scott]

pass

wusssssssssssssss!!!