Jason versus Digging Up the Marrow

I've said this on the show, and I will say it again here: at some point in a filmmaker's career he or she will want to make a movie about making movies. Why? Because making movies is fun and people are interested in it. But is it an interesting enough topic for a feature film?

Well, when left in the hands of a horror-movie director like Adam Green, and when said horror-movie director decides to make a fake documentary featuring himself and his crew going in search of monsters, it just might be. So, you know, stick with me!

Digging Up the Marrow is a unique film for its type in that pretty much everybody in it plays him or herself save for veteran genre actor Ray Wise, who plays a kinda nut named William Dekker. Dekker is kinda a nut because he believes monsters are real, and he convinces Green he has hard evidence to prove it.

What transpires is a mockumentary about the journey Dekker, Green and company undertake in their quest to get these monsters on film. And, in the best tradition of mockumentaries, there's a heavy dose of self-referential humour. How funny you find it depends on how much you like Green and his schtick, and how much you dig horror.

I dig horror, and I've liked most of Green's work, so I was amused by Digging Up the Marrow. Fortunately, Green's added just enough tension -- and some creepy and effective monster effects on his low budget -- that the spooky elements work well enough too. It's fun to see genre veterans like Tom Holland, Mick Garris and Kane Hodder get involved in the shenanigans, and it's a little frightening when the monsters finally reveal themselves.

It was a bit of an odd choice to cast Wise, who is quite recognizable, as the only fictional character -- other than the monsters of course. His presence did pull me out of the gag more than once, but I'll give credit where credit is due and say he did a great job as the obsessive and kooky Dekker.

Digging Up the Marrow isn't something I could watch over and over, but it's certainly a curiosity piece for horror fans.

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