By Simon Thompson
Director Daniel Falicki and writer Wil Radcliffe’s Bone Hill, is a dull, by the numbers piece of supernatural horror, with the staying power of Ben Fogle. If you can predict where a movie is going within the first 20 minutes or so, then that is a damning indictment of the quality of the narrative.
The plot of Bone Hill, centres around a backwoods Michigan town and its connection to a haunted Indian burial ground. After a local woman named Laurie (Abby R Mooring) finds herself at Bone Hill and comes back a raving mess, a psychiatrist named Wade (Jeremy Koch) is brought out from a leave of absence (due to the death of his wife) to help Laurie. Through meeting Laurie, Wade becomes obsessed with/ embarks on a deadly investigation of Bone Hill at the cost of great personal danger.
Visually, despite having what I imagine to be a small budget, Bone Hill is an extremely well shot movie. Faliciki uses the film’s rural Michigan setting to create some truly beautiful images, the animation sequence explaining the town’s origins is outstanding, and the way that Faliciki plays with the contrast between light and dark is interesting to analyse.
Where the movie falls apart, however, is in its script and the acting. Radcliffe’s script features characters who are paper thin cliches, for example the burnt out psychiatrist, overworked doctor, the shady guy who speaks exclusively in riddles and ominous statements yet is suspected by nobody until it’s too late, without any personality, charisma or interesting quirks whatsoever.
Jeremy Koch in his performance as Wade, the movie’s protagonist, has about two default facial expressions and a semi-permanent look that I could best describe as a sheep being caught on an electric fence.
To conclude, Bone Hill is a disposable piece of supernatural horror, which beside some good visuals has very little to recommend it, not even in a so bad it’s good way.
Bloody Flicks 