Skeleton Man was one of the first movies so bad that they are good I ever saw. And boy was it a good one. It offers non stop laughs and it’s insanely entertaining. At one point I was on the floor rolling, reveling in the glory that is Skeleton Man. Rarely do we get a movie that is this good bad, so if you haven’t seen it, make it a special occasion. Think about how much you’re going to enjoy it and try to guess what’s going to happen. And I urge you not to read up on it or watch any trailers. I will also try to avoid any spoilers, talking about pretty obvious stuff.
First of all, you’ll notice that our monster is sporting a beautiful and frightening garbage bag cape. An ominous reminder that you will end up as trash if you see the face of Skeleton Man! This movie is a blend of different action and horror movies from the eighties. Movies like Rambo, Predator, Poltergeist, and others. Plus, it’s got that swagger of the eighties. You know the one where Skeleton Man reaches for the skull on the cupboard through the dead body of the archaeologist he just killed. However, the main story has more of a seventies eco-horror vibe.
The hour is late but that doesn’t stop our archeologist friend from working on his latest’s finds. He just dug up an Indian Burial ground and is anxious to see what’s that all about. However, he’s interrupted by a creature wearing a long black cape only exposing the whiteness of his skull. The revenge must be taken and taken it shall be. This is the hour of Skeleton Man! To stop this madness a special Delta Force team is sent to dispatch this creature to the underworld. Will they succeed or will Skeleton Man claim their lives too?
As soon as you see the opening credits, you’ll know what type of movie this is. Additionally, a huge wave of nostalgia will hit you as you start remembering the good old DVD days and the beginnings of the CGI craze. The craze that will come to define bad movies for the next two decades. I should also tell you that this isn’t some Sy-Fy channel blunder but a good old Nu Image production. Ahhh, what would we do without this Cannon Film Group of the nineties and early aughts? You just can’t beat those melodramatic setups.
When it comes to the storytelling, you can see what they were going for. You’ve seen this plot a thousand times before. A frightened woman running through the woods stumbles upon a construction van with someone inside. Finally, she’s going to get some help but alas when she opens the door the guy turns out to be dead. She rushes to the nearby metal door trying to open them and fails only to realize moments later that she needs to pull and not push. That type of stuff.
As I already mentioned, each new development brings a bunch of new stuff to laugh at. And you’re still trying to wrap your head around the last scene. I also loved our Delta Force team that looks so incredibly inept and hilarious that if they tried they couldn’t pull it off. One fat guy, one old guy, one Casper van Dien, one Micheal Rooker, and some attractive girls. There’s just so much stuff here that I could spend the next two days talking about just the first thirty minutes.
Skeleton Man belongs to a wave of good bad movies Nu Image produced in Bulgaria. You’ve probably heard of Shark Attack 3: Megalodon but have you heard of U.S. Seals II, Octopus 2: River of Fear, Marines or Rats? All these movies are pure gold for the fans of the so bad that it’s good genre. I will leave you with this link to all Nu Image releases, so get ready to have some fun. Finally, if you’re looking for something similar, I recommend you check out Deadly Prey.
Director: Johnny Martin
Writer: Frederick Bailey
Cast: Casper Van Dien, Michael Rooker, Robert Miano, Sarah Ann Schultz, Eric Etebari
Fun Facts: In Germany the movie is tagged as a comedy-film and not as a horror-film. The advertising slogan on the DVD-Package announces “Here lives the spirit of Ed Wood”.
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372832/
