Smallscreen Reviews

Review: 'Bag of Bones' Maine Gothic

By April MacIntyre Dec 11, 2011, 0:53 GMT

“Bag of Bones” is flawed in many ways, yet despite this, I enjoyed this moody yarn that horror maestro Mick Garris directed, with Matt Venne penning the script based on The New York Times #1 bestseller by Stephen King.

A&E's “Bag of Bones” is a ghost story of grief and enduring bonds of love, about innocent children made to pay for the sins of the fathers, and how one man is drawn to discover the secrets of a far-away Maine lake.

Pierce Brosnan, Melissa George, Annabeth Gish, Anika Noni Rose, William Schallert, Jason Priestley and Caitlin Carmichael star in the television event premiering Sunday, December 11 and concludes on Monday, December 12, airing at 9PM ET/PT on A&E both nights.

“Bag of Bones” is flawed in many ways, yet despite this, I enjoyed this moody yarn that horror maestro Mick Garris directed, with Matt Venne penning the script based on The New York Times #1 bestseller by Stephen King.

Brosnan plays a successful writer and husband who is tormented by the truly horrific accidental loss of his wife, played by Annabeth Gish.

The music is heavy handed and gives away every fright, and there is no reason given for Brosnan's accent, as his brother (Matt Frewer) has none.

King's works on television have been miss at best, yet this story set on Dark Score Lake is a popcorn Maine Gothic that can be enjoyed by the family without any damage one would expect from the Saw franchise or Hostel-type films.

Brosnan delights at his dead wife's communications, then is pulled into a world of the ghost of a murdered 1930s blues singer (Anika Noni Rose). The details of just how she is murdered are pretty awful, and part of the reveal of the secret.

The villain is rich Max Devore, played by William Schallert whose aide is a limber senior minx Rogette (Deborah Grover), as the makeup and hair department take a page out of what villainous old creepy rich people should be styled like. They delight at every misfortune, cackling like hyenas.

Mike meets a potential new love, widow Mattie (Melissa George), who is key to the whole Dark Score Lake secret, a favorite King theme in all his literature, where the new generation pays for an act of evil in years past.

Garris' creative lensing and trademark visual style makes this a watchable film, but it's far from what it could have been with a little more finesse in music, writing and editing.