REVIEW: Skeletons

Skeletons

Director: Nick Whitfield

Year: 2010

Plot Summary: Two exorcists literally remove the skeletons from the cupboards from people's homes.

Falling somewhere between Being John Malkovich, Donnie Darko and Inception, the winner of this year’s Best British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival has all the right ingredients to be a cult classic. Its concept – two men who specialise in finding, as the saying goes, the skeletons inside people’s closets - promises to make for a smart, funny and enjoyably bizarre hour and half of entertainment. However, for a number of reasons, it just doesn’t work.

One of which is the fact that it’s just not funny enough. Though it opens up with a humorous exchange of dialogue about Rasputin, Skeletons is never able to find this or really any level of hilarity again. Another is that it’s just not smart enough. For such a fresh idea, the entire plot hinges on a conventional and predictably mystery that is about as engrossing to watch as water dripping from a tap. But, most of all, it’s so badly written that at times it becomes totally unwatchable.

After all, Skeletons makes no effort to explain any of its science to you at any point. We never understand how the process works, what the risks are, etc. and so the movie quickly becomes completely unfathomable as events and situations occur without any reason or explanation. For example, part of the narrative focusses on the fact Simon and Bennett can’t get a reading from their employer’s house. But the reasons why or even how they later fix it aren’t described to us and so it’s impossible for viewers to care. The same can be said about the flashbacks. The main character, Simon, seems to revisit his memories by using stones throughout Skeletons but how he does this isn't touched on.

While a movie like the aforementioned Inception gained criticism – and a very funny South Park gag – based on the fact that there are so many explanations, Skeletons is living proof of why that level of explanation is necessary. Without some kind of rules or constraints, the movie could take us anywhere for any reason and, therefore, lacks any interest or involvement.

A major disappointment that I expected more from, Skeletons is a poor British sci-fi that makes little sense, has no point and will leave you both bored and baffled.

2/5

By Daniel Sarath with No comments