Bones Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
This Halloween, unleash the Dogg.
The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dog) is respected and loved as the neighborhood protector. When he is betrayed and brutally murdered by a corrupt cop (Michael T. Weiss), Bones' elegant brownstone becomes his tomb, Twenty-two years later, the neighborhood has become a ghetto, and his home has turned into a gothic ruin. Four teens renovate it as an after hours nightclub, unkowingly releasing Jimmy's tortured spirit. Its thrills and chills when blood spills when Jimmy's ghost sets about its frighful revenge, his killers unaware of the gruesome fate that awaits them. With each new victim, the terror mounts, and Bones' vengeance spins out of control, threatening everyone in his path, including his former lover, Pearl (Pam Grier). Get ready for Bones!!!
| Snoop Dogg | Jimmy Bones |
| Pam Grier | Pearl |
| Michael T. Weiss | Det. Lupovich |
| Clifton Powell | Jeremiah Peet |
| Ricky Harris | Eddie Mack |
| Bianca Lawson | Cynthia |
| Khalil Kain | Patrick Peet |
| Merwin Mondesir | Bill Peet |
| Sean Amsing | Maurice |
| Katharine Isabelle | Tia Peet |
| Ron Selmour | Shotgun |
| Deezer D | Stank |
| Garikayi Mutambirwa | Weaze |
| Erin Wright | Snowflake |
| Josh Byer | Jason |
| Ernest R. Dickerson |
3.80 out of 10 (2432 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Baron Bones
posted on 14 Aug 2009This movie has a lot of qualities from various little seen horror films. It has a lot of qualities from The Crow, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Being a fan of Italian horror, it has a lot of resemblences to a 1972 Mario Bava flick titled Baron Blood, (aka: The Torture Chamber of Baron Blood) with similar sets, costumes, and lighting of a old fashion Euro horror film. Even Jimmy Bones' black hat resembles the one worn by Joseph Cotton in playing the Baron Otto Von Kleist in Baron Blood. Worth a look if you're into that kind of old fashion grade B horror.
Entertaining and not as bad as its rep...
posted on 17 Jul 2009In an attempt to bring something positive to the inner-city, a group of wealthy suburban teens decide to purchase an abandoned mansion in the ghetto and convert it into a happenin' nightclub. Their parents, who spent their youth in the city, have passed down an urban legend about a man named Bones, who was brutally murdered in the area. Unfortunately, the kids don't heed their warnings and stir up trouble when they happen upon the bones of the dead 70s gangsta residing in the basement of their new digs. "Bones" is a fun mix of old blaxploitation and contemporary horror. The acting (like most things about the movie) is hit or miss. The young actors playing the teens do a tolerable job. Snoop plays the titular roll and doesn't have that many scenes, but he's decent when he's on screen and probably the smoothest horror villain ever. Pam Grier gives an out-there performance as Bones' lover from the old days, now a worn and slightly crazy fortune-teller overly-protective of her teen daughter. The movie tries to take on some interesting themes about the intersection of class and race, as well as the suburbanization of America's cities. But who am I kidding, the real selling point here is the nastiness. There's plenty of sick gore scenes (including lots of icky maggot sequences!) they will please any horror fan. Some of the special effects are misguided, but some of them are effectively creepy. Overall, it's not as bad as many genre fans claim it is. It's like a less serious take on "Candyman." The plot is a somewhat muddled, and I never really understood the motives of half the characters. If you can overlook the obvious missteps and silly abrupt ending, there is an enjoyable movie in there.
Starts out strong, fizzles in the end, but still entertaining
posted on 15 Jun 2009I suppose when going to see a movie how much you end up liking the movie depends on the expectations you had of the movie. Most people would agree, the lower the expectations, chances are the more you'll like the movie.
HOwever, with high expectations the movie is pretty much damned...never being able to live up. Well, with Bones, I have to admit I went in with expectations being the lowest of the low. Actually, I was half asleep at 3am channel surfing when this caught my eye.To give Bones credit, it caught my attention and held it (even as tired as I was). The movie starts out quite strong. Very intriguing, moody, and atmospheric. The shadowy shots, the subtle inferences...all start to add up to what could be a good scare. Unfortunately about 1/3 of the way through it really fizzled. The acting (which wasn't too bad to begin with), simply got worse and less believable. Although the premise wasn't anything new or unheard of, it still started out strong. A deal gone bad, murder, betrayal...all combined with a chilling "ghost" story and Bones could have been more successful. But, like I said, it eventually succombed the to inevitable cheese and instead of keeping with the cool, atmospheric creepiness, decided to go full swing into cheesedom. Aaaah, such is horror.And, well, since my expectations were low (and I was half asleep), I actually liked the movie overall. Sure, I could have done without the last 20 minutes or so. But what it lacks in a great ending, it makes up for in overall eerieness.I'd have to say that Bone is, at the very least, entertaining. No, I wouldn't rent it, buy it, pay to see it, etc, but if it's on...watch it.
The first 40 minutes alone are worth it.
Full potential never reached
posted on 20 May 2009I only recently saw this movie. Basically your standard man gets killed and sometime later comes back to life to get his revenge on his killers. It starts with potential and kept it through about 3 quarters of the film but in the last quarter it choked, stalled, and then died.All through the movie the blood was any color but the color of blood, I have to wonder if that was supposed to have paid homage to the days when the censorship laws prohibited film makers using blood colored blood, it does in its own way add a kind of sick humor to Bones and there was plenty of dark humor to go around in the first place, really there are parts that are quite funny. Unfortunately there are also parts that are just plain stupid and other parts that are gross just for the sake of being gross. It also has plenty of things that are cliché then there is the racially cliché. A black man has a white lover called Snowflake and a joke about eating fried chicken among other things.Getting closer to the end the story begins to follow an illogical line, if Jimmy Bones returns from the dead to seek revenge on those that killed him then why did he do so much more damage and why did the movie end the way it did? So that the film makers could get the movie done and leave an opening for a sequel to a movie that never needed one?I think that the greatest injustice of the movie was that the character of Jimmy Bones was made into the bad guy, vicious and ruthless and completely the opposite of what and who the character was made out to be during flashback scenes that occur throughout the film. Even though this happens Snoop Dogg gives a great performance as Jimmy Bones but the writing of the character and the movie itself could have been handled better, both had potential that was dropped and ended before the full potential was ever reached. Still the movie is fun and that makes it very watchable even if you watch it just the once.
A Nightmare on Bones Street!
posted on 04 May 2009This was a very good film if you dig any of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series (preferably Parts 3 or 4). You can see it has that Freddy Krueger vibe running through its veins. Right down to the colorful shadows, neato killings, and anti-hero villain. But it also stands on its own much more than some similiar Nightmare knockoffs (Leprechaun comes to mind, in fact this film plays like a much more effective Leprechaun 4: Lep in the Hood).Snoop Dogg does very well in the role of Bones, making lines like, "The Gangster of Love don't need no fried chicken" sound very serious and convincing. Pam Grier once again returns to her roots and I for one am not complaining. Maybe I'm slightly partial to this film because it features Katharine Isabelle from one of my favorite horror films "Ginger Snaps". But beyond that I very enjoyed this ride of movie.
Pick the Bones out of this.
posted on 06 Apr 2009Why do african Americans feel they need to make films that are predominantly full of black actors and promote the film on the fact? Can you imagine Speilberg making a film and saying"this is a film made by whites and acted by whites"There would be uproar. Blacksploitation they call it. I call it pointless. As for the film , i have seen worse and i have seen a lot better. The story is the usual far fetched dross that we get from most horrors and the special affects are everage. Its not unwatchable and even at times it is a little entertaining but for the most it is quite forgettable.Snoop Dog is as bad an actor as he is a music artist...Complete and utter crap. Dont dismiss this film if you like horror but expect to much.6 out of 10.
8/10 on my scale. What a good horror/revenge fick should be
posted on 02 Jan 2009Yeah, like pretty much every other horror movie that hits the theaters, this one took a pretty heavy trashing both, from the critics and from the audiences who didn't understand it. However, I found "Bones" to be a highly enjoyable, entertaining, and (at times) creepy horror flick that I hope, is the birth of a new franchise. It's very refreshing to see a horror flick that can take a standard premise and make it seem fresh again. Also, I enjoyed the killer being a someone who we can sympathize with. Let me break it down a little bit. Back in 1979, Jimmy Bones was the man of his neighborhood. Just what all he was into is never fully explained, but we do know that he runs a pretty classy little nightclub and loves to dress in full-pimp get-up. Basically, Bones is a good guy. All he wants to do is run his business and take care of his people. However, when he is propositioned to bring in crack, he refuses and is double-crossed then murdered by people he thought he could trust. Jump twenty years into the future and we get a group of twenty-somethings who have just bought the building where Bones was murdered. Hoping to turn the place into a club, they ignore all warnings of the place's evil and pretty soon, they mess around and wake the dead. Now that Bones is back, he's upset, understandably, and wants revenge on the people who did him wrong.That's it. Kinda sounds like Nightmare On Elm Street right? Well, it's a lot like it and a lot of others you may have seen. What set this one apart for me was the lead. Casting Snoop Dog as Jimmy Bones was perfect. I've never been a big fan of his acting, but here, he pulls it off great giving us a villain that we can sympathize with, care about, and root for. We know where he's coming from and watching him take his revenge on the dispicable villains was fun fun fun. I also enjoyed the romantic angle brought to the film by the chemistry between Snoop and Pam Grier. I don't think that it would have gone down near as well had there been a different set of actors, but it gave a real soft side to Bones and made me like him that much more.I really loved the cinematography and having the blood look intentionally fake, was also a nice touch. Unlike some others, I really enjoyed the shifting in tones. The first 2/3 of the picture had a really dark and gothic tone to it while the latter third had a little bit of comic relief thrown in. Yes, it went WAY over the top (the severed heads, that whole "world of the dead" bit) but, for me, that added to the overall joy of the film and made it that much more. It also made it VERY hard to take it serious.
It's pretty hard to find a good horror flick these days (and a mainstream one, at that) and I'm sure that I'll be adding this one to my dvd collection pretty soon. Oh, (I don't think I'm giving too much away here) the door is left open for a whole slew of sequels. I can't wait.
Jeezus
posted on 25 Dec 2008Quite possible the worst movie every, seriously. Stay away at all cost. I could go on all night why this one is awful, but as a friend to humanity I must warn all; you may want to kill yourself for having viewed this movie in it's entirity. Yes, it just that bad, I mean for God's sake the blood is orange, and that's not even the tip of the ice burg. The movie has no tone, and the little bit of tone it does attemps to establish is ruined by the last 25 min. or so when tries unsuccessfully to switch over to comedy. This movie is bad all the way around the board, there really not one decent thing about it. I refuse to even say anymore about this trash, I dare not give it anymore attention than this. But this is more of a warning just say no.
The Soundtrack is Great
posted on 14 Jun 2008What did anyone expect from this movie? I missed it when it played in theaters during Halloween and I showed up at Hollywood Video this morning to rent it. The casting was good. I particularly like the fact that Snoop is doing his "movie thing". He was scrumptious in his pimp daddy clothes and simplistic acting style.Definitely a spin on the movies of the 70's. I thought the blood and effects were extremely weak, but again, I wasn't expecting this to be Nightmare on Elm Street. Actually, it was much better than I expected it to be. Let's face it, Snoop will never be an Oscar contender, but at least he's attempting to do something positive with his dollar- dollar bills.The absolute best thing about the entire movie was the Soundtrack which the movie starts out with playing a smooth re-make by Snoop of James' Brown's "The Big Pay Back". That alone gets two thumbs up from this critic.
Horrible
posted on 15 May 2008Like the first reviewer here said, this is a mess of a movie.It's really more of a 70's black exploitation type film than anything else. Not a genre I am a fan of.I should have known it would stink when Snoop Dogg is the lead. The only rapper I have ever liked in a film was "Ice Cube" in "Ghosts of Mars".
No "BONES" About It
posted on 11 Apr 2008Well, at least the folks at New Line Cinema were smart enough to market this Snoop Doggy dog of a film in season. It's dog season. "It's eat Dog", the title character asserts. And it sure is because BONES cannot be anymore unmemorable than the other Halloween releases of '01 i.e. THIR13EEN GHOSTS. Snoop Dogg stars as Jimmy Bones, a gaudy 'hood pusher who is resurrected ala HELLRAISER to stalk his killers. BONES also stars Pam Grier as his old flame. She does go up in one by credits end by the way. It's fitting how Pam Grier can have such a role which requires such a glorious death. Altruism sucks,don't it? Well,never mind. Half of the movie seems to be filled with flashbacks of Jimmy Bones' mortal and immortal incarnations which the producers think justifies it's frenetic music video-style look. Check out the credits sequence. Make no bones about it(pun obviously intended)BONES is a ripoff of Alex Proyas' THE CROW not to mention it is also just another post-SCREAM horror romp, crackerjack ending and all. At least in a box of Crackerjacks you know your only getting one rip-off.
Well the casting was pretty good
posted on 06 Mar 2008Jimmy Bones(Snoop Dogg) comes back to life 20 years or so after his murder too seek revenge on the people who killed him.And that pretty much sums up the plot.While i am not into rap music i find Snoop Dogg very fun too watch, i find the guy pretty funny.But not even Snoop can save this flick. But he was the only thing good in the movie.His scenes are the only ones worth watching.Director Ernest Dickerson failed at telling the story but then again with a script this poor there isn't much he can do.The cast though was pretty good but they can't save the film.Pam Grier, Michael T. Weiss, Khalil Kain and Bianca Lawson co-star with Snoop Dogg.Katharine Isabelle from the Cult Classic Ginger Snaps is pretty much wasted she's a fine young actress but isn't given much to do in Bones.The final 45min are some what entertaining.A few good one liners from Snopp Dogg and some good gore.I give Bones 3/10.Still worth a watch for a few cool scenes, It's just that the script was rather awful
Horrible horror film, decent comedy
posted on 09 Feb 2008As a horror film I don't think they come any cheesier. The reason I watched the movie was for a good laugh, and it provided just that. Apparently this type of "horror" scares people. They used disgusting ideas and visions to try to get a scare out of you. For me it just made me laugh. However if you want a good laugh check it out, you wont be let down.
A good campy mess of an old-fashioned horror film.
posted on 11 Nov 2007Now, this is a traditional horror film which was released right in the wake of FROM HELL last October. After viewing it, you can clearly tell that production of this film was only because it was Halloween. It contains little originality and no scares at all. But, for some reason, I still liked it.*SPOILERS*The year is 1979 and Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg) is the king pimp in his 'hood. When a gang of bad guys trying to sell crack try to entice Jimmy into getting to deal for them, Jimmy refuses and crooked cop Lupovich (Michael T. Weiss) forces the rest of the gang to kill Jimmy. Flash forward some twenty years where Jimmy's home has become his tomb and a Gothic ruin. Four teens decide that the house has potential and decide to make it into a nightclub. But, after accidently releasing Jimmy's spirit, Bones is coming back to exact revenge on those who killed him.A traditional plot, sure, but for some reason I liked the gloominess and Gothic atmosphere of the film. Snoop Dogg really isn't the main character of the film, in this case, it would probably be Khalil Kain- but one cannot be sure because of the numerous characters. Pam Grier plays Jimmy's girlfriend who was also forced to kill him. Director Ernest Dickerson tried as hard as he could to fit Bones into the boogymen category with Michael Meyers and Freddy. And it works, the only problem is that the film wasn't a major hit when it first came out. You would expect that a film such as this (containing bad acting, stupid dialogue and blood that looks thick and paint-like and even orange in some cases) would atleast have been popular. But, the plot itself was better that SCREAM. The only problem with this one is that the killer is a spirit. And during the death scenes, I wish that there would have been some sort of chase scene during atleast one murder.In any case, BONES is a campy horror film that brings you back to see how much movies have changed nowadays. It is a film to take off the shelf once a year around Halloween and give it a watch. But, the plot is paper-thin and makes little sense. I could name a thousand stupid things that were in this film, but I liked it a lot so I'm not going to. If you watch it, you will spot them too. BONES is a good little film that wasn't destined to become a classic but certainly had the potential.....4/5.
Bones is strictly for the Dogs
posted on 16 Oct 2007***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** I'm pleased that Snoop Doggy Dogg has realized that he can't rap forever and is trying to branch out into other arenas. I'm even pleased with the fact he played a character against his rap image of being the baddest m*f*. A Snoop rap song would never have allowed a humiliating murder like the one he received in the film (he was killed by his friends in his own house). And although it's nice to see actors like Ricky Harris and Pam Grier working, the film was pretty bad.The plot was decent, but it should have been better. Are we really going to believe that after finding a dead body in the basement with blood pouring out of the pipes that those kids would really have spent the night in that house?Like most horror films it was predictable. I knew when Maurice (SeanAmsing ) took the ring off the dead Jimmy Bones' finger that he was going to be the first to die. It's been done like that too many times in too many other films. My mind needs more...The graphics were great but any horror film made in the 21st century is supposed to have great graphics. You don't get credit for that. My mind needs more...Some have said that when a film is truly good you leave the film thinking about the film, perhaps even chilling with friends and discussing the more thought provoking elements of the film. There are definitely aspects of this film I can't get off my mind: Did I really need to see Pam Grier in an afro wig pretending to be 20 something but looking more like Jimmy Bones' mother? Did I really need to see the severed heads arguing amongst themselves? Was that supposed to be the comedy relief? If so, why wasn't it funny? Was Snoop Dogg wearing a weave? If so, it blended very well. A lot of us would look much better with his hair dresser. I can think of 10 or 20 off the top of my head. Did this Ernest Dickerson fellow learn how to make bad films from Spike Lee or is this a talent he already had? Do you think if I write a really polite letter to the CEO of New Line Cinema that I can get my money back? Did I remember to pick up my black dress from the drycleaners?I'm afraid I have to give this film a C-. I'm being generous because I adore Snoop and Pam. Although, they both should be scolded for selecting such a sappy, crappy film. Yick!
Not too bad, not too good...
posted on 14 Sep 2007I must say this film was a little better than I expected, however, having said that I wasn't expecting much in the first place. Im not giving anything away - the storyline is very straightforward and the blurb on the back of the dvd/video cover is quite sufficient in explaining the plot. <p> If you like your horror movies whether they be A or Z grade (like I do) then this film is worth a peek. The horror scenes are quite decent. There is a surprising amount of genuine suspense (even I jumped a few times)and quite a few laughs - but dont even try and look any further into the film than this! If you are one of those people to whom the quality of a plot must be in league with films such as "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Godfather" - AVOID AT ALL COSTS. This film should only be viewed by those who are fans of the horror genre. <p> This is a messy film when taken seriously, it makes very little sense, the explanation as to how Mr Bones became of the undead is limp to say the least. Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) is wasted in this film - she has no room to show any of her (in my opinion) excellent talent and comes off wishy washy. Snoop Dogg is a terrible actor and I was very glad that his main roles in the film were limited to flashbacks and the climax. Unfortunatley once again the directors and writers had no idea how to finish the film and resorted to the old "spirit of the thought to be defeated demon managed to slip into someone else for no apparent reason" cliche. Also I was HIGHLY dissapointed with the death scene of Bones that caused the whole thing -very weak. For horror fans out of interest only. 5/10
It's dog eat dog, bro
posted on 10 Jul 2007First of all, I'd like to point out this film features B.S. Dogg, esquire, as a resurrected pimp out for revenge on his murderers (in case you're wondering, B.S. stands for Bigg Snoop). Now, this man actually misspells three-letter words like "big" and "dog". This man is responsible for the creation of words like "izzey", "shizzey" and "my nizzey". I KNOW the kind of quality attached to the name Bigg Snoop Dogg. I rented Bones this Halloween anticipating one of those "so bad it's good" deals. Unfortunately it wasn't so bad it was good. Fortunately - and against all odds - it actually WAS pretty entertaining. Director Ernest Dickerson brings on all your horror clichés, which I don't consider a bad thing, and even slams in some blaxploitation clichés. There were enough references to horror classics to show Dickerson loves the biz-nass he's in. The comic relief in the later half also reminds us (after some darker parts) that this film is not to be taken seriously at all. Snoop delivers as the ghetto "Frank from Hellraiser" or "Jason Voorhees" or "Freddy Krueger" or whatever the f**k. The kids are as believable as you can get with the lines given to them (Lawson and Isabelle look good though). Michael T. Weiss is better than expected as "Loopy-Lou" Lupovich, the crooked cop. Pam Grier is her usual good self as well. But all in all, this truly is Snoop's film. I wish they'd do a franchise on this. After all, the Freddy sequels weren't as successful as the original, but still they made 'em. To me, Jimmy Bones is up there with other boogeymen like Pinhead, Michael Myers and the Candyman."The Gangsta of Love don't need no fried chicken!"
Good horror movie
posted on 14 Jun 2007SPOILER CONTAINEDI can't see why everyone is complaining about this movie. The plot was a little weak, but it's a horror movie. say that to yourself while you watch it and you won't hate it so much. Think about it. there is a very small fraction of horror movies made that have 'good movie' components. plus, snoop dogg is in this. that's the first reason to watch it. i realize this doesn't sound like a sound argument to you people that think Traffic was a good movie, but get a life, loosen up, and watch horror movies with the expectation that they'll live up to the legacy of The Horror Movie, not some brainy flick that people superficially latch on to becuase they don't understand it.anyway, Bones was a good horror movie because it did the job of a series of movies in one installment. usually if there is a lapse in time it's between moves and not in them. ***SPOILER*** I also appreciate how he is never vanquished by the end of the movie. It's a plot twist that is not often used. ***END***if you liked this go rent Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Copy cat dumb waiter to an underground dungeon
posted on 10 Jun 2007The film is original in a few ways but it is mostly a jigsaw puzzle of borrowed elements. One can recognize Clive Barker's Hellraiser, or a new episode of Candyman, or an extension of Nightmare on Elm Street, or even Halloween or some Stephen King film. But it is black, black and black again and the hood is always very close, the hood of Boyz in the Hood and its crack and the execution of the little local gang leader by his associates including his protecting cop, and he finally comes back to get his vengeance, get even and recapture all his executioners and their next generation of children, including his own daughter. That does not make a film with a meaning, just some kind of thrilling entertainment, if you like blood and maggots, underground tunnels and skeletons in some kind of cabinet, or is it a cupboard or a closet? A little bit sad in a way because the situation and the theme could have produced a film with some insight in black imagination, in black white-induced schizophrenia, and it does not.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Hip Hop Horror Surprise
posted on 30 Aug 2009This hip hop horror flick was a pleasant surprise. Much better acting than I expected. Snoop was excellent as Bones and Pam Grier is always a joy to watch, but the main stars were the young lead actors who carried the film. The story line was intriguing and although some of the horror scenes were a bit over done towards the end, the film is suspenseful and will hold your interest from beginning to end.