Knuckle Bones: Dice, demons and desperation

You know how it goes sometimes – you sit down expecting one kind of flick and get handed something completely different, like ordering princess cake at Vete-Katten but ending up with salt lakrits. Exactly that happen to me last weekend with Knuckle Bones, Mitch Wilson’s horror rollercoaster, and let me say: det va en upplevelse, alright!

The film kicks off somewhere in Texas, dusty and grungy like they shot it at some abandoned bensinmack outside Läggesta. Our young heroine, played convincingly enough by Julin Jean, stumbles upon some old Nazi-summoning spell, summoning a demon by accident. Classic Tuesday night, no? Anyhow, things escalate quickly (too quickly?), and soon they’re tossing dice, sacrificing hapless hipsters, and dealing with guess who – Knuckle Bones himself.

But hold on, Richard Tyson from Kindergarten Cop (yes, Arnie’s nemesis!) pops up randomly, giving the whole shebang a bizarrely nostalgic kick. The gore – Oj oj oj! It’s gleefully gross, like glorious 80s splatter, rubber limbs flying around like konfetti on midsommar. Made me think of renting VHS back in Norrtälje with friends, pizza slices greasy fingers leaving splotches on the cases. Good times, simpler times.

Though, gotta admit, plot is thinner than kaffe from Pressbyrån after midnight. And some acting… ja alltså, det va inte perfekt, directly. Characters made decisions no one in their right mind would make. (Seriously mate, don’t open that creepy door when screams come from inside!)

Still, Knuckle Bones tickles that guilty-pleasure nerve, quirky and silly enough to laugh about after. Would I recommend it? Maybe not to mamma, but get a few polare and some godisnappar, and it makes a decent enough skräckfest.

watch the full movie on CinemaOneMovies on YouTube

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