Dead Bones is Tasty: A Movie Review

Director/writer: Olivier Beguin.

Dead Bones is a short nineteen minute film that was recently shown at the Nevermore Film Festival. Now, the film is available to fans and reviewed here. Starring Ken Foree this picture involves cannibalism, bounty hunters, and lots of gunplay. The film is too short to be gripping, but the film blends horror and westerns naturally.

The plot line follows a bounty hunter (Arie Verveen) into a desolate town known as Dead Bones where the dead are recycled for tasty treats. In Dead Bones travelers are not only shown hospitality but eaten by the locals. Also, in Dead Bones are two wanted men who have already been apprehended by the locals for later butchering. In the course of the film the hunter releases one criminal in order to escape an underground butcher's house through teamwork. They fight their way out of the town to a final showdown between hunter and prey.

Westerns and horror seem to be natural states in film. Both of these genres are action oriented and involve death which makes Dead Bones a good pairing of these two genres. The quick pacing of horror and westerns also keeps the film lively which is essential for entertainment purposes.

The action sequences are well rehearsed and the portrayal of a cannibal by Ken Foree is believable. Foree has been in several films involving twisted writing material and in Dead Bones he is right at home nibbling a dying man's hand, or leering wildly at other actors. Foree's acting experience in the horror genre helps with his characterization here. There is one long battle sequence in the middle of the film where characters move on cue into shots only to be shot at just the right moment. As well, characters explode by dynamite as planned and there are no flaws in the execution of the climax. The entire film is action oriented and worth viewing.

The only place where Dead Bones is available for purchase is from the Dead Bones website found below. The natural combination of the horror genre with the western makes Dead Bones a realistic and flowing portrayal of the wild west.

Acting/believability/casting: 7 (Arie Verveen is good as an anti-hero here as someone who is alright with good and bad sides of law).
Directing techniques/control of production: 7.5 (isolated set equals few interruptions).
Photography/camera techniques: 7 (shaky camera, following action of shootout from point-of-view).

Overall: 7.15 gnawed arms out of 10.

The film is purchaseable here:

The Dead Bones Website

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Posted in: 2010,genre,horror,ken foree,movie poster,movie review,plot,thriller,western