I
don’t know if the melding of blaxploitation and horror can always create
memorable genre entertainment, but as someone eagerly hoping for a DVD
release of BLACULA and SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM!, I was more
than ready to give director Ernest Dickerson’s BONES ($25), a spin.
While not completely successful, BONES is an interesting and stylish
horror offering that is greatly influenced by the works of Italian auteurs,
such as Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Dickerson uses ripe, over-saturated
colors in the same fashion as Bava and Argento to create an otherworldly
atmosphere of decay for BONES. I also have to give Dickerson the
nod for the most imaginative use of maggots since SUSPIRIA.
The
plot of BONES offers up the type of horror story that one would
find contained in a classic EC comic of old- one involving greed, murder
and revenge from beyond the grave. Back in 1979, Jimmy Bones was the flashy
hoodlum that controlled every aspect of his local neighborhood and managed
to keep it thriving… that is, until he was murdered. Flash forward to
present day, where we find the neighborhood another urban wasteland of
drug dealers and shells of burnt out buildings. Even Jimmy Bones’ old
crib is a ghostly ruin, that is, until a group savvy suburban youths decide
to renovate it and turn it into a hip hop dance club. Of course, all the
activity gives Jimmy Bones’ restless spirit the opportunity to reconstitute
itself and set out on a supernatural course of revenge.
Rap
artist Snoop Dogg cuts an ideal figure in the role of Jimmy Bones, looking
totally at home in both his 70’s hoodlum fashions, as well as his black,
beyond-the-grave western wear. Snoop Dogg also turns in a credible performance,
which is bolstered by his innate physical appearance. Blaxploitation icon
Pam Grier also does a fine job as Jimmy Bones’ love interest, still morning
his loss, and yet fearing that his vengeful spirit will return. Grier
also seems ageless in the role- still looking as beautiful now, as she
did in her blaxploitation heyday. The cast of BONES also features
Michael T. Weiss, Clifton Powell, Ricky Harris, Bianca Lawson, Khalil
Kain, Merwin Mondesir, Sean Amsing, Katharine Isabelle and Ron Selmour.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made BONES available on DVD in a 2.35:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. BONES features a typical New Line transfer- in other
words, great looking. The image is crisp, clean and highly detailed. Colors
tend to be incredibly vibrant and highly stylized. Intense hues are as
flawlessly rendered as the film’s natural looking flesh tones. Blacks
are rich and velvety; in addition contrast is wonderfully smooth and the
image produces excellent shadow detail. For a dark film, BONES
shows very little appreciable grain, and the element used for the transfer
is free from blemishes. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression
artifacts well hidden.
For
this release, BONES features excellent Dolby Digital EX and DTS
ES soundtracks that have been mixed for the home theater environment.
These 5.1/6.1 soundtracks are aggressively mixed, taking full advantage
of the discrete properties of both formats. Sound effects are atmospheric,
in addition to leaping out at the viewer to enhance the visual zingers.
Sounds also pan smoothly around the entire soundstage, which capably uses
the split surround channels. Dialogue is always pronounced (pardon the
pun) and completely intelligible. The bass channel is deep and very solid,
enhancing both the sound effects and the film’s music. Speaking of the
music, both the film’s score and incidental music are reproduced with
excellent fidelity and a genuine sense of presence. The difference between
the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks isn’t huge, but the higher resolution
of DTS does allow for slightly sweeter, richer sound. An English Dolby
Surround track is also provided, in addition to English subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental features of this Platinum
Series release. Starting things off is a running audio commentary featuring
director Ernest Dickerson, writer Adam Simon, and Snoop Dogg. Despite
some gaps, the track is pretty informative, offering a goodly amount of
production detail. The DVD also features two documentaries, Digging
Up Bones and Urban Gothic: Bones And Its Influences.
At almost twenty-five minutes, Digging Up Bones is pretty
solid, offering one a look behind-the-scenes and includes interview footage
with cast and crewmembers. Running nearly twenty minutes, Urban
Gothic: Bones And Its Influences is something that should appeal
to horror fans in general, since it offers a look at the horror cinema
that directly influenced Ernest Dickerson’s stylistic choices for BONES.
14 deleted/extended scenes are also provided on the DVD and they have
been made available with the option of director’s commentary. Two versions
of Snoop Dogg’s music video for the song Dogg Names Snoop
are also included on the DVD. A theatrical trailer, production notes and
cast & filmmaker biographies close out the video supplements. BONES
is also DVD-ROM enabled, offering the film’s screenplay, original theatrical
website and web links.
BONES
may not be a perfect horror outing, but I like director Ernest Dickerson’s
sense of style and how the film’s scare factor marries itself to the blaxploitation
genre. Also, let us not forget about the Pam Grier factor… Not only does
New Line’s DVD edition of BONES look and sound fantastic, it also
offers a solid supplemental section that makes it a disc that horror fans
will want to check out.
I
don’t know if the melding of blaxploitation and horror can always create
memorable genre entertainment, but as someone eagerly hoping for a DVD
release of BLACULA and SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM!, I was more
than ready to give director Ernest Dickerson’s BONES ($25), a spin.
While not completely successful, BONES is an interesting and stylish
horror offering that is greatly influenced by the works of Italian auteurs,
such as Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Dickerson uses ripe, over-saturated
colors in the same fashion as Bava and Argento to create an otherworldly
atmosphere of decay for BONES. I also have to give Dickerson the
nod for the most imaginative use of maggots since SUSPIRIA.
The
plot of BONES offers up the type of horror story that one would
find contained in a classic EC comic of old- one involving greed, murder
and revenge from beyond the grave. Back in 1979, Jimmy Bones was the flashy
hoodlum that controlled every aspect of his local neighborhood and managed
to keep it thriving… that is, until he was murdered. Flash forward to
present day, where we find the neighborhood another urban wasteland of
drug dealers and shells of burnt out buildings. Even Jimmy Bones’ old
crib is a ghostly ruin, that is, until a group savvy suburban youths decide
to renovate it and turn it into a hip hop dance club. Of course, all the
activity gives Jimmy Bones’ restless spirit the opportunity to reconstitute
itself and set out on a supernatural course of revenge.
Rap
artist Snoop Dogg cuts an ideal figure in the role of Jimmy Bones, looking
totally at home in both his 70’s hoodlum fashions, as well as his black,
beyond-the-grave western wear. Snoop Dogg also turns in a credible performance,
which is bolstered by his innate physical appearance. Blaxploitation icon
Pam Grier also does a fine job as Jimmy Bones’ love interest, still morning
his loss, and yet fearing that his vengeful spirit will return. Grier
also seems ageless in the role- still looking as beautiful now, as she
did in her blaxploitation heyday. The cast of BONES also features
Michael T. Weiss, Clifton Powell, Ricky Harris, Bianca Lawson, Khalil
Kain, Merwin Mondesir, Sean Amsing, Katharine Isabelle and Ron Selmour.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made BONES available on DVD in a 2.35:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. BONES features a typical New Line transfer- in other
words, great looking. The image is crisp, clean and highly detailed. Colors
tend to be incredibly vibrant and highly stylized. Intense hues are as
flawlessly rendered as the film’s natural looking flesh tones. Blacks
are rich and velvety; in addition contrast is wonderfully smooth and the
image produces excellent shadow detail. For a dark film, BONES
shows very little appreciable grain, and the element used for the transfer
is free from blemishes. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression
artifacts well hidden.
For
this release, BONES features excellent Dolby Digital EX and DTS
ES soundtracks that have been mixed for the home theater environment.
These 5.1/6.1 soundtracks are aggressively mixed, taking full advantage
of the discrete properties of both formats. Sound effects are atmospheric,
in addition to leaping out at the viewer to enhance the visual zingers.
Sounds also pan smoothly around the entire soundstage, which capably uses
the split surround channels. Dialogue is always pronounced (pardon the
pun) and completely intelligible. The bass channel is deep and very solid,
enhancing both the sound effects and the film’s music. Speaking of the
music, both the film’s score and incidental music are reproduced with
excellent fidelity and a genuine sense of presence. The difference between
the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks isn’t huge, but the higher resolution
of DTS does allow for slightly sweeter, richer sound. An English Dolby
Surround track is also provided, in addition to English subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental features of this Platinum
Series release. Starting things off is a running audio commentary featuring
director Ernest Dickerson, writer Adam Simon, and Snoop Dogg. Despite
some gaps, the track is pretty informative, offering a goodly amount of
production detail. The DVD also features two documentaries, Digging
Up Bones and Urban Gothic: Bones And Its Influences.
At almost twenty-five minutes, Digging Up Bones is pretty
solid, offering one a look behind-the-scenes and includes interview footage
with cast and crewmembers. Running nearly twenty minutes, Urban
Gothic: Bones And Its Influences is something that should appeal
to horror fans in general, since it offers a look at the horror cinema
that directly influenced Ernest Dickerson’s stylistic choices for BONES.
14 deleted/extended scenes are also provided on the DVD and they have
been made available with the option of director’s commentary. Two versions
of Snoop Dogg’s music video for the song Dogg Names Snoop
are also included on the DVD. A theatrical trailer, production notes and
cast & filmmaker biographies close out the video supplements. BONES
is also DVD-ROM enabled, offering the film’s screenplay, original theatrical
website and web links.
BONES
may not be a perfect horror outing, but I like director Ernest Dickerson’s
sense of style and how the film’s scare factor marries itself to the blaxploitation
genre. Also, let us not forget about the Pam Grier factor… Not only does
New Line’s DVD edition of BONES look and sound fantastic, it also
offers a solid supplemental section that makes it a disc that horror fans
will want to check out.
