In Hollywood, movies get the green light for various reasons some of which
puzzle even the biggest movie fans. Stars and directors have enormous pull
and can get projects made that they want to appear in with ease. If your a
studio and your approached by Tom Hanks about potentially making a picture
together are you going to turn it down?. I don't think so. What about if
Cameron Crowe comes to you with a script for a murder mystery. It's safe to
say that star power and popularity works in Hollywood and just about every
actor or actress has a pet project they are looking to do. While some films
get made really quickly there are scripts out there that have been
floating around for years just waiting for the right person to sign on
to the film. Wayne and Donna Powers wrote a screenplay for a film called
Skeleton's in the early 1990s and Universal was interested. At the time
Universal felt the film was too dark for a major studio picture and the
film was quickly shelved. Years passed and Donna and Wayne went on to write
the major hit Deep Blue Sea as well as last years teen slasher flick
Valentine. However it wasn't either of these efforts that interested the
head of Artisan. It was a short film shot by the Powers with Treat
Williams that was financed by the proceeds from the sale of the Powers
house. Wayne and Donna were told that Artisan would be interested in making
the picture with a modest budget of 1.5 million dollars if Treat Williams
would star in the project. Treat agreed and suddenly years later Wayne and
Donna finally had their "GO" picture.
Seth Reed (Jonathan Jackson) is a kid whose had a tough life. At the tender
age of 6 he watched his mother die in a tragic fire that burned down his
childhood home. It's now years later and he still believes that his dad
Will (Treat Williams) set the fire. The only thing is he's not exactly
sure what happened or how it happened. Will is a working class man who has
an adequate job at a local engineering company. He and Seth don't really
get along well at all and when Seth is home he's locked away upstairs in
his bedroom. Seth isn't home very often though as he disappears for nights
and weeks at a time. When a local boy turns up dead that Seth was seen with
him the night of the murder suspicions arise surrounding Seth's innocence.
Seth even goes to the extreme length of confessing to Will that he did the
crime. Seth decides to get away and become a better man by joining the army
but before long he is once again in trouble with the law. All the while
Will is trying to start up a relationship with a coworker named Tina (Linda
Hamilton). As Seth is around less and less and sends his dad more and more
creepy gifts Will get's concerned and begins to stalk his own son. As
Will's actions teeter on the brink of sanity it get's harder and harder to
decern the truth of what happened the night of the fire.
After years of writing screenplays for other people Wayne and Donna Powers
finally got to make the picture they always wanted. Wayne and Donna who
had previous co-written the B-movie smash Deep Blue Sea for director Renny
Harlin and the colossal flop Valentine for Jamie Blanks have saved the
best for themselves. Skeletons is a thriller that isn't exactly always by
the numbers. There are twists and turns and while some of them are pretty
predictable I didn't seem to mind. Now don't get me wrong this is strictly
B-movie fare that wouldn't have racked up any cash at the box office
because it's just not a marketable type of film. It's somewhat dark and
twisted and doesn't really fit the cookie cutter mold of a Hollywood
thriller. Hollywood seems bent on the straight up chase style thriller
(Double Jeopardy, The Fugitive) and these more psychological thrillers
seem to fall by the wayside. For every Seven there's a half dozen or more
Skeletons that end up straight to video.
The studio wanted Treat Williams for this role and they got him. Treat is
an actor who mainly acts in smaller direct to video type releases like this
one. Recently Treat would be best known as the star of the Substitute
sequels 2-4. He's a fine actor just not A-List material. Treat is given a
chance to do something other then typical action as Will a guy who has a
kid and is trying to start a relationship years after his wife's untimely
demise. Jonathan Jackson is an actor I don't know much about who gives a
scary performance here. Jackson's Seth was constantly frightening and kept
me on the edge of my seat. His haunting performance should give him a
chance at larger roles in the future. Linda Hamilton who was once a huge
star is good in her small but important role of Will's partner and love
interest. Schulyer Fisk (daughter of Sissy Spacek) is excellent in her two
scenes as Seth's girlfriend.
Skeletons in the Closet doesn't break any new ground in the genre nor is
the best thriller I've ever seen. It's a dark, smart and often disturbing
thriller that's worth a look at home. Artisan made the right decision not
to sink a lot of money into this film as it would never been commercially
viable at the theaters where people flock to see such tripe as Dude,
Where's My Car. As a thriller it has a few flaws but ultimately it works.
It's a B-Movie all the way and as long as you know that one could do a lot
worse then Skeletons in the Closet.