Howard J. Ford’s Bone Keeper is a creature feature with a slightly sci-fi-inflected backdrop containing scores of slithering monsters. The title itself is vaguely reminiscent of very early Wes Craven or Roger Corman, so early promise abounds. With an opening of “400,000 years ago,” the viewer is promptly introduced to (presumably) the titular beast as a family of early humans is set upon by an oozing, vicious beast, reawakened, and ostensibly on the hunt for, well, bones. We then travel to 1976 briefly to watch a dogged journalist swiftly fall victim to the marauding cave-dweller, before time leaps forward again to the present day, which sees a band of curious young friends out to shine the light on the Bone Keeper’s communally debated existence.
Turns out the 1976 victim was grandfather to one of the main characters, and that motivation extends beyond adventurous jollity for Olivia (Sarah Alexander-Marks), as her mother is missing after attempting to track down the elusive Keeper. Olivia is joined on the expedition by Annabel (Tiffany Hannam-Daniels), Ethan (Louis James), Ravi (Danny Rahim), Nadia (Sophia Eleni), Nick (Tyler Winchcombe), and Ashley (Sarah T. Cohen), and included among the determined septet is a renowned vlogger, whose viewership reach could propel the cryptid quest into viral status.
On the subject of cryptids, there are direct mentions to the Loch Ness Monster (geographically not too far away from this one’s action) and Bigfoot (subject of the incredibly underrated found footage flick Willow Creek). Ford’s film plays a bit like The Burrowers mixed with The Hallow by way of The Descent (a bona fide classic of the cave horror subgenre) in the way it situates its vaguely fantastic creature feature premise in an unusual and striking setting: a squirming network of labyrinthine, subterranean tunnels.
“… an oozing, vicious beast, reawakened, and ostensibly on the hunt for, well, bones…”
At one point, the caves are likened to outer space; timeless, with day and night rendered indistinguishable by the unshifting, reason-crushing darkness that reigns supreme down there. That sense of claustrophobia is mostly captured. Of course, expectedly, the helmeted spelunkers begin to meet a series of grisly fates. Sequences involving the squirming, worm-like, tentacled creatures with gnashing maws hurtling through the darkness pack a jolt or two. Especially towards the end, where the extra-terrestrial-adjacent menacer appears to half-absorb one of its victims (grotesquely resembling a human/squid hybrid).
Bone Keeper isn’t without groan -inducing moments, and not all the characters are fleshed out fully, but the movie zips by in spite of some occasionally unconvincing effects. The dialogue is passable, containing an appropriate mix of wisecracking incredulity, geological jargon, and earnest otherworldly exposition (mostly courtesy of Jonathan Rhys-Davies’ professor-type).
All in all, Ford’s creature feature is a solid entry in the genre’s pantheon. It doesn’t have the carefully crafted atmospherics of something like Antlers or the deeply underrated Australian eco-horror Carnifex (which plunges into its own local legend), but it carries a smattering of scares and a helping of lore, rendering this underground romp an enjoyable one.
"…a smattering of scares and a helping of lore in an enjoyable romp..."
