When musicians move into the arena of film, it's usually time to duck for cover ("Cool as Ice" and "Glitter" come to mind). However, Snoop Dogg comes across surprisingly well in his major role debut, "Bones," a vicious and violent horror film that takes no prisoners.
In 1979, Jimmy Bones (the Dogg) is a sharp-dressed mack daddy who uses his riches and high position in the community to help out his fellow people. Though largely beloved, he is brutally killed by a corrupt cop and drug dealer with whom he refuses to do business.
The location of his murder becomes a haunted house where any intruders are reduced, literally, to bones. This terror causes the neighborhood to die and become a ghetto.
In the present day, a group of kids decides to move into the place and turn it into a nightclub. Bones' girlfriend-turned-fortune teller (Pam Grier) does her best to dissuade them from this. When all hell breaks loose, Bones is let out of his spiritual prison and all of the characters' shady pasts come back to haunt them.
As stated earlier, yes, Snoop Dogg is actually quite good as both good-hearted mack and supernatural killer from beyond the grave. There are a few throwaway lines that don't serve any real purpose, and his catch phrase "Dog eat dog!" is a bit repetitive, but overall, he is fairly intense and menacing.
Grier is great in both time periods - she is sweet and naive with a killer afro in the 1979 segments and appropriately hard-edged as the present-day dredlocked fortune teller. Her bittersweet parting with Bones adds an interesting conflict that isn't fully clear until the mystery surrounding his murder is unraveled.
The young cast members are only decent. They're given the most screen time, but there are no real memorable performances there (though one of them is cool enough to make a reference to Vincent Price in the original "House on Haunted Hill").
There are some outstanding, jaw-dropping moments. Several gruesome gags involving maggots are good for a dose of shock value. In one of them, a dog even vomits the squirmy little buggers all over an unsuspecting victim.
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Make no mistake, "Bones" is derivative. Some scenes that may be intended as homage seem more like rip-offage. Bones' flesh-dripping resurrection sequences are identical to Freddy's resurrection in "Nightmare on Elm Street 4," as well as Frank's in the original "Hellraiser." The very least one can say in favor of these is that they used good old-fashioned makeup effects to achieve them rather than going the lame digital route.
I honestly went into this one expecting a ridiculous idiot-fest, but it's actually quite tense and well-done, at least for the first two-thirds of the film.
This is largely because of director Ernest Dickerson, who was also responsible for the underrated "Tales from the Hood." He vividly shows he can still pull off some solid shocks and shrieks.
Now for the last third of the film - man, does it get lame. One can almost hear the studio executives breathing down the filmmakers' necks here, demanding more appearances by Snoop Dogg and some comedy to offset the horror.
This weak-kneed approach nearly sinks the film in its last act. Snoop's presence for the film's first hour as an implied, ghostly menace is chillingly effective. But he's just not as frightening once he manifests himself physically and kills people with his trusty switchblade.
Plus there's some awful humor involving talking severed heads. That particular gag is so old it's growing a gray beard. And the goofiness shreds the tension that has been building rather well. A few well-placed jolts near the end keep it from being a total loss.
But anyone with half a brain can see the "surprise" ending coming from a mile away.
"Bones" is all right, but it reeks of an attempted franchise. As it stands, it's okay, but if Jimmy Bones becomes a household name villain, snarling "Dog eat dog!" in "Bones 3: Give the Dogg Some Bones," someone immediately should issue a warrant for Snoop's arrest.
A great film this ain't, but all in all, it's a good night's entertainment for the Halloween season. If one's expectations aren't set too high, the Dogg delivers.
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