While I can't be certain that Bones went under the studio knife for a little test-screening cosmetic surgery, I sure am suspicious. The first two thirds of the movie deliver old fashioned, 80's-style horror goods with decent character development, a nice history lesson as to why Jimmy Bones is so hacked-off, and some juicy gore. This movie even has a good reason for the heroes to stick around in a haunted house (please, no more horror movies about scientific research groups studying the supernatural). By the time Bones awakens and starts killing those who wronged him, the film has settled into a tight, supernatural revenge flick with a nod to the blaxploitation genre.
Then, oh man, then the film goes horribly wrong. All subtlety flies out the window as the relatively creepy 'hood' setting is replaced with a trip to a "city of dead" that looks like an rejected set from the worst Nightmare on Elm Street movie. What's even worse is that there is no allusion to the "city of the dead" in the entire movie until the scene before our heroes bumble into it.
This glaring shift of setting is made worse by the sudden inclusion of corny, corny attempts a humor--talking decapitated heads complaining about their hair?--and a silly ending. In fact, the last twenty minutes even seem like they were directed by someone else. Imagine watching Se7en, with all its creepy direction and atmosphere, only to have it end like it was directed by Joel Schumacher.
Bones is no Se7en but after a healthy start, it deserved better.