The Bone Garden

Director - Mike Gutridge (Loretta)
Starring - Tracie Savage (The Legend of Lizzie Borden), Paul Kratka (Friday the 13th Part III), and Tammy Kaitz (Kosher Pig)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Not all secrets stay buried"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I have been on a roll lately reviewing some bad horror flicks.  I recently watched Frankenstein: Day of the Beast, Frances Stein, and Vice Versa.  These films were not that great and really put me in a bad mood.  I had high hopes for all these films and they all let me down.  Next on the chopping block was The Bone Garden from Alternative Cinema's Camp Motion Pictures.  The film was another new one to me and the artwork did not look that promising.  With that being said, Alternative Cinema has never really let me down so I went into the film open minded.  Though the film moved painfully slow it was still able to entertain to a certain degree.

    The film follows housewife Alice (Savage) who mostly stays at home while her husband is away at work.  His is a college professor and she suspects that he is cheating on her with all those nubile college students.  She is a fitness freak and often goes for a run by the lake it is then that she starts to notice strange things.  A new neighbor, who is also a professor at the college, dragging odd looking things wrapped in plastic and dumping it in the lake.  She becomes obsessed with it thinking he is a killer but she is soon tossed into a world full of bloodshed and deciept until the real killer is revealed...and you won't suspect who it is.
     I knew The Bone Garden would be serial killer based due to the title.  I have seen two documentaries now with the same title so that wasn't a surprise when I found out it did followed a serial killer.  The cover also compared it to Psycho and Rear Window.  Sadly, I did not see that comparison but the film was still a fun watch.  The acting in this one is great.  The film stars two Friday the 13th Part III alumni, the beautiful Traci Savage and Paul Kratka.  Both show they still have the acting chops that got them cast in the now iconic slasher film.  To be honest, I believe that Traci is by far the hottest of all the ladies that appeared in the Friday the 13th series and she still has it in this film.  Those black jogging pants, wow.  She delivers an amazing performance and kills it with the ending.  She was perfectly cast in this one.  The remainder of the cast does a solid job supporting her but she is clearly the star.  The story for this one is a murder mystery that then turns into something much, much more.  There has been so many day time dramas following a busybody housewife who suspects her neighbors of murder.  Hell, that is the basis for the black comedy The 'Burbs, however, few follow that simple story up with the mindfuck of an ending.  The first half of the film drags on but the ending was very powerful.  Finally, those of you looking for blood and gore will not find it here.  Hell, you won't even find atmosphere and suspense either.  The film relies solely on the story which is fun but far from perfect.  Overall, The Bone Garden is a film that lives up to it's name but could have been so much more.  The film has a great cast but lacks atmosphere and the kills one would associate with a film like this.  Check it out, it is well worth your time.