Advance Review: Dry Bones (2014)

Dry Bones is a low-budget horror comedy by writer/director Greg Lamberson and co-director/producer/leading actor Michael O’Hear, telling the story of Drew (O’Hear), a man returning home after 35 years to discover that the monster he believed lived under his bed when he was a child is real and has been waiting for him.

Drawing on local acting talent in Buffalo, Dry Bones is a clever take on the “Monster under the Bed” story that switches things up by adding a more mature sexual aspect, making the creature a succubus. B-Movie Icon Debbie Rochon plays Drew’s childhood crush — with a twist — and Basket Case (1982) star Kevin Van Hentenryck (credited as Duane Smith due to union issues) cameos as Drew’s abusive dad — who mysteriously disappeared 35 years ago. Having the most experience, indie horror cred, and doing good jobs with the material, Rochon (who won Best Supporting Actress at PollyGrind Film Festival) and Hentenryck are real highlights of the film. But ultimately, they’re supporting characters. The strength of the film lies in the main characters and their relationships.

O’Hear’s Drew is soft-spoken and damaged, having spent time in a mental hospital after the “disappearance” of his father. His belief in the monster under his bed has been treated like a delusion for over three decades and he is medicated into a state of passivity. The only reason he’s even back in town is to help his sister Rebecca (Kathy Murphy) sell their parents’ house. The chemistry O’Hear has with Paul McGinnis (playing Drew’s best friend Tom) and John Renna (playing Rebecca’s ex-husband and cop, Carl) makes this movie work. All three actors play off of each other really well, with most of the humor being character and relationship driven rather than relying on jokes or gags.

With a shooting budget of around $15,000, Dry Bones makes excellent use of the talent involved, getting the most out of every penny, with Lamberson’s house doubling as the main set, and most of the actor’s homes serving as their character’s homes too. The makeup effects are limited to a brief glimpse of the succubus at the beginning of the film, monster hands reaching from under the bed for the middle sequences, mummified corpses of the succubus victims, and finally a full succubus costume at the climax of the film, complete with facial prosthesis, phallic wing stubs, VD sores, and the pièce de résistance, pus-squirting boobs.

All in all, this is a fun little throwback to ‘80s style horror comedies, exactly as the filmmakers intended it to be, and that’s not a bad way to spend an evening.

Extras

Behind the Scenes featurette: In which we discover that the most disruptive influence on the set wasn’t actors missing their marks, laughing, or the forgetting of lines, but Lamberson’s two cats, who would casually stroll through scenes like they owned the house. The rest of the featurette focuses on bloopers and mock interviews with the cast and crew.

Audio Commentary: This is the real prize here. The movie is a lot of fun, but the commentary is like a short course on indie-filmmaking. Lamberson, along with Visual Effects Supervisor Arick Szymecki, and makeup effects artist Rod Durick, walk the listener through every stage of the production process, from brainstorming the idea for the script (with O’Hear) to casting difficulties to details on the special effects work. They even have suggestions about audio equipment and critique the camera they used for shooting.

If you’re a filmmaker trying to get a project off the ground, and don’t have a lot of money to get started with, I highly recommend listening to the commentary track. It’s practically worth the price of the film itself. The fact that Dry Bones is a fun movie is gravy!