Shudder Saturday: The Bone Box (2020)

The only feature film, to date, written and directed by Luke Genton, The Bone Box is a slightly messy affair that doesn't quite make you forget the low budget. Yet there is definitely enough here to enjoy, and to mark Genton out as someone worth keeping an eye on.

The plot sees young Benji (Aaron Schwartz) in some dire financial trouble. So dire, in fact, that he has indulged in a bit of grave-robbing. Viewers don't have to see this macabre act, they are told of it as he discusses things with his friend, Elodie (Michelle Krusiec). Helping his elderly Aunt Florence (Maria Olsen), Benji may be an opportunistic and horrible scammer, or he may be genuinely trying to help out as he also attempts to dig his way out of a hole. Things get worse, and creepier, when Benji starts to suspect that he is being visited by the spirits of those he has robbed.

Let's not pretend otherwise here, there's more than a touch of The Conjuring and Insidious about the execution of this material. Genton peppers the film with a mix of subtle moments and enjoyable "boo" jump scared, the latter becoming more and more prevalent in the enjoyably busy third act, where more and more dangers are added to the mix and you know everything is due to bite the lead character on his ass, as it were.

Schwartz does a decent enough job in his role. He responds well to the moments that induce fear in his character, and he manages to be surprisingly easy to like for someone taken to a bit of grave-robbing. Krusiec is a very good co-star, being an excellent best friend, the type who can accept all your failings, but also try to warn you against making things worse. And Olsen, a familiar face to genre fans, has what I think may well be her best role yet, and one she relishes accordingly, in the form of the elderly aunt, blissfully ignorant of the worst things happening around her.

It is very much a "paint by numbers" horror movie, and those who aren't fans of the supernatural shenanigans we have had from the likes of James Wan and Leigh Whannell should just avoid it, but being so competently put together, even if a bit familiar and predictable to some, isn't terrible, especially when you have sat through so many lesser movies that try to do the same thing and fail.

7/10

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