User Reviews

I was quite surprised by this movie which keeps you watching right to the end, mainly due to the cast. The story itself fizzles out towards the end but still very watchable. Ron Silver is very good with a fine performance and supported by some fine actors (James Coburn great as ever) The director David DeCoteau has made more than his fair share of low budget drivel but this does rate out of the movies I've had the misfortune to watch, as his best and certainly the only one with anyone you have ever heard of starring in it. So much so when you look at the other movies on IMDb that he has directed before and after this one you really do wonder how he got the job directing such a good cast? So I'm presuming that the cast has more to do with how watchable the movie is rather than the ultra low budget director, who must hold some sort of record for the Director with the lowest voted movies on the IMDb. Above Average Movie 5/10

From the moment Peter, Heather and their son Zack move to the Stepford Wives-esque town of Saugatuck in New England you just know something isn't right. All the women have perfect hair and make-up and bake like there's no tomorrow. All the men are rednecks and there's no-one even vaguely ethnic in sight, as observed by Peter's wife Heather. There's just something downright creepy about this place. Unfortunately for Peter and his family, the audience figures that out well before he does.

What begins as an intriguing investigation by journalist Peter into a mysterious local murder eventually ends with a most disappointing, scattered ending. I don't know how else they could have ended it but I was let down because I thought, "Wow, this is a really good movie. I'm into it and I want to know what happens!" Well, when the truth eventually comes out it's all too late etc. etc. and you're left thinking, "Well, that was a bit crap!"

Ron Silver is in top form as usual though with his little one-liners and quips. Kyle Howard as Zack Crane is good too for a youngster. One to watch!

I'd recommend seeing "Skeletons" because it is a mystery, but unfortunately the mystery doesn't last long enough and when the "twist" comes, we've already figured it out.

I couldn't work out why people of a New England town would have Southern accents either ...

"Skeletons" is listed as a 1997 TV-movie, but it must have been shown somewhere else given its not-ready-for-prime time language.

It stars Ron Silver, Dee Wallace Stone, Christopher Plummer, James Coburn, and Carole Baker.

This is actually a horror film, though it starts off as a mystery. When journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Crane (Silver) suffers a heart attack, he and his wife (Stone) and young son move to a small, idyllic New England town, Saugatuck. They haven't been there long when a woman (Baker) comes to see Crane, knowing his reputation. Her son has been accused of killing his gay lover; she knows he didn't do it and wants Crane to investigate.

It's clear from the get-go that the town is anti-gay, and the Crane family is immediately harassed by the locals because of Crane's interest in the case. Crane smells a set-up, and when another tragedy occurs, he's sure of it.

This film disintegrated into horror-land toward the end. It became obvious that some of these actors -- Mr. Plummer, I'm talking to you -- did it for the money. One of our finest actors in this dreck - I find it reprehensible. Ditto James Coburn.

I'd like to say this film is dated but we know in some parts of the country, this kind of harassment against gays still goes on. This movie over-emphasized the point but still, since it is a horror film, it could be made today, seventeen years later. That makes me sad. Like a few other things in "Skeletons."

I hold this movie in absolute disdain. It is one of those "we have a do-good, politically correct, neatly packaged little movie that we swear really does have a point." This movie is about a sleepy little town that has a gay murder that may or may not have been a hate crime (though they not-so-subtly make it clear that it was). An ill writer moves there, exposes the story, and is harassed to no end. This movie is basically here to say that moral positions against homosexuality are wrong, that religion is really an evil narcotic, and that anyone who disagrees is a bigoted homophobe. It is sad that the director let the soap-box proclamations get in the way, because the idea of a xenophobic little town with strange people and not enough genetic variation is a decent premise. James Coburn, Christopher Plummer, and Ron Silver are all very good actors, but they are simply not able to show what they can do.

The pace at which this film staggers reminds me of one of my alcoholic friend's storytelling abilities. It lurches forth and alternates between fast action that makes no sense, then bizarre attempts to build suspense that fail miserably. The film also takes a turn for the bizarre when a crazy lady befriends the ill writer. I can't say too much about it without giving the move away, but the end is especially bizarre and disappointing. All in all, a very bad movie.

I would, in closing, like to point out one key similarity between this movie and my aforementioned alcoholic friend. At the end of his stories he would usually throw up. At the end of this movie, you will.

When you see quality actors' names such as James Coburn or Christopher Plummer attached to a movie , you would assume that those quality actors would appear in films that have a quality script. I mean , surely they READ the script before they agreed to appear in this rubbish?

Movies like this do nothing but damage a good actors' reputation so I guess it's a good thing that very few people have actually seen it.

I just wish I hadn't.

Religious cult type film, was brilliant to see Ron Silver and Christopher Plummer at work with a really good script and set up. The plot is very well done and I always wanted to see what was coming next, I think this one's a bit underrated, especially with the small budget they had, story over special effects.

The cult in the film is homophobic and racist, with no black people or gay people being allowed to live in the village. Ron Silver's character is a well renowned actor and whilst initially well respected him and his family are soon attacked for looking into the suspicious death of a homosexual man which the evil cult obviously wants to cover up.

7/10: Very good storyline and acting, definitely a gem!

Poor acting and a dumb, anti-religious story that tries to preach a trite ideal with a completely ridiculous and laughable scenario. This looks like a really poor and cheesy TV movie but I think it was actually meant to have a serious "message" that makes it even more pathetic. Ron Silver's acting once again stinks up the place even when surrounded by other poor performances all around. Yuck.

Before you waste time reading this review. Please do not watch the movie.

I feel I have wasted time in my life I will never regain and I suggest you not repeat my mistake by watching this movie. That said...

If you were to judge Chris Plummer, James Coburn and Ron Silver on the content of this movie, No one would ever watch ANY of their other films. It was really that bad and worse. I have never wrote an opinion of a movie but this was so bad I had to today.

What drove me insane throughout this attempt at a movie was Ron Silver the main character, whispered his lines most of the time and you could not hear him. You could here the others but no Ronnie Baby and I was actually cursing him through the movie. Oh my his "acting" was horrible. I would say he is the worst actor of all time. As for the plot and script, they were unbelievably bad and made no sense. It was like a very bad science fiction show but with no monsters or special effects.

I can not imagine why James Coburn would take such an empty lifeless role.

It's a pity to have to write this considering the great talent pool that worked on this hack piece. Christopher Plummer must have fallen on hard times financially to appear in this wreck as a deranged Maine Scottish minister defending murder of homosexuals and mayhem directed at the New York journalist (Ron Silver) who uncovers the skeletons in the local retards closets.

Every character in this film is a cliché to be hated as intolerant, bigoted, biased, prejudiced and just plane gun totting stupid. In point of plain fact it is the producers, director, writers and actors who fit that description. One would think that they could at least try to be subtle about their rancid hatred for traditional values in order to convince viewers of their ideas. Obviously not.

This is as about as bad as it gets when New York socialists write a script for Hollywood limousine liberals to condition the minds of viewers that homosexual coupling is the wave of the future. Do they really think that movie-goers are that stupid? Guess so.

Sui Generis Beverly Hills California

Ron Silver, James Coburn and Christopher Plummer are interesting to watch in this unoriginal plot about something rotten in an apparently perfect New England small town. The film suffers from a crisis of identity, starting off like a legal drama, developing shades of high school angst, a horror element and, well, I'll stop there rather than give away the ending. As someone else has said in this forum, the story fizzles out at the end. Bad plot, only just saved by some decent acting. 5 out of 10.

The title was an excellent line, delivered by one crazy priest but there is little else to recommend this sub-standard, awful thriller. Can't believe such competent actors such as Ron Silver, C.Plummer and James Coburn, are actually in this. It's really a poor effort and relegated to the trade pile.

I don't know what the previous writer was talking about, this was an excellent movie, I think Ron Silver was completely overshadowed by the acting ability of British Born actor Lee Tonks but he still did good. Lee Tonks was excellent in this movie. The plot was well derived, cinematography was excellent! I think it's amazing that they managed to get Anthony Pownall to work on such a small budget feature, but I guess he must have been friends with the producer or something. I don't think the average American public realizes the acting ability of Anthony Pownall and Lee Tonks. anyone who watches this movie is in for a real treat.

this film was acceptable, but not worth more than 6/10. some parts are quite boring and tedious, but the exciting and scary parts make up for it. James Coburn plays very well in this film. some of the better parts are where a burning scarecrow is hung from outside their home, and there car windows are smashed, and where the son is beaten-up. this film is worth about £7 or $10 no more.