BONE KEEPER (U.K., 2026)
Official synopsis
A cosmic fireball crashes into remote woodland, awakening a terrifying creature hidden in the depths. 1976: James Wheeler enters a cave determined to uncover the truth — and is never seen again. All that’s found is a single frame of Super 8 film, capturing the silhouette of a horrifying creature. Now Wheeler’s granddaughter, along with five explorers, set out to investigate the legend of the “Bone Keeper.” But deep in the caves, they realise they are being hunted, and the line between hunter and prey blurs. Will they uncover the truth and escape the creature — or become the next missing souls?
Review
Prolific writer/director Howard J. Ford (River of Blood; DarkGame)crafts a full-on creature feature with Bone Keeper. It has its high points (great monster attack set pieces) and not-as-high points (several characters don’t give viewers much to root for) but overall it’s a fun monster mayhem offering. Sarah Alexandra Marks (who was also quite good in 2024’s Witch, reviewed here) gives a solid lead performance as Olivia Wheeler, a young woman who has lost family members in mysterious manners in a certain cave. She and fellow search party members head to that same cave to try and solve the mystery. This being a fear-fare film, savvy genre-cinema viewers know that is not a wise idea for the characters, and Ford delivers on having things go horribly wrong for them. John Rhys-Davies as Professor Harrison adds some additional intrigue to the proceedings. The mix of CGI from Visual Effects Supervisor Giordano Aita and Visual Effects Artist Rafael Emidio and practical effects from Special Makeup Effects Artist Max Van De Banks is quite impressive, and there is no shortage of action and attacks that creature-feature devotees crave.
THE TRICK (U.K., 2025)
Official synopsis
When Rita (Jennie Eggleton), a tired waitress eager to clock off, is asked by her boss (Matthew Platt) to encourage a mysterious Man in Black (Rowan Polonski) to finish his drink and go, she becomes the unwilling participant in a sinister show that blurs the line between illusion and reality. What begins as a simple card trick spirals into something truly uncanny and by last orders, no one is quite who they seemed. The Trick is a dark, suspenseful short horror from Backmask Pictures that will leave you questioning what’s real . . . and what’s magick.
Review
Cowriters/codirectors Matt Fitch and Chris Baker provide more proof that horror cinema protagonists should never be skeptics with their short shocker The Trick. At just under 5 minutes, the short tells a complete story but it also leaves me wanting to see a feature-length version of the world that the mysterious magician (Polonski) inhabits. Polonski gives a dynamite, chilling lead performance, with Eggleton also solid as the unwitting subject of his latest act of conjuring and Platt impressive as the pub manager. The production values are first rate, and the pacing is superb. Aficionados of supernatural horror will want to check this one out, and they can do so right now!
Bone Keeper and The Trick screened at FrightFest Glasgow, which took place March 5–7 in Glasgow, Scotland.
