Skeleton Man (DVD)

Somehow, I missed this one when it debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel touted as one of its own original movies… Somehow, I manage to miss most of those! Skeleton Man features a couple of B-actors I generally enjoy seeing (Michael Rooker and Casper Van Dien), plus there’s a plethora of no-names who round out the cast and serve as grisly grist for the horror mill.

The Skeleton Man himself is something like the Grim Reaper (hooded cape, horse and all) crossed with the Predator (he’s got that cool warped P.O.V. thing going on, and he either disappears or teleports himself from place to place), and for some reason, he’s really angry. I think it has something to do with a Native American legend, but it really doesn’t matter; he gallops around in the forest, hacking everyone he encounters to pieces and there’s plenty of blood, dismemberments and even a wicked beheading. He — and the horse he rode in on — seem to be indestructible as thousands of  rounds from the tactical elite team who are out to destroy him never even come close to nicking his skull.

You could do worse than this supernatural slasher, which is action-packed and so full of bad dialogue it’ll keep you entertained until the end until the end-credits roll. The Skeleton Man is far from scary, but at least he’s a little different from the usual Dino-Croc or Mansquito style monsters you find in these Sci-Fi Channel movies. This gory offering’s got plenty of meat on its bones, even if it is low-grade hamburger.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson