Title: Digging Up the Marrow
RLJ Entertainment / Image Entertainment
Director: Adam Green
Writer: Adam Green
Cast: Ray Wise, Adam Green, Will Barratt, Steve Agee, Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie, Kane Hodder, Rileah Vanderbilt, Tom Holland, Mick Garris, Tony Todd, Lloyd Kaufman, Joe Lynch,
Running Time: 88 Minutes, Not Rated
Special Features: Extended and Deleted Scenes [5 total] with introductions by Adam Green; Monsters of the Marrow [28 min]; Commentary with Writer/Director Adam Green, Artist Alex Pardee, Cinematographer Will Barratt and Actor Ray Wise; Trailer
Available on DVD & Blu-Ray March 24th
Documentary style horror film presented and directed by Adam Green of Holliston and the Hatchet franchise. At first you think this is a documentary about horror films and fans, but it segues into a realistic horror film about Adam getting a package from a reclusive retired detective named William Dekker (Ray Wise), who claims to know of a spot in the woods he calls “The Marrow” where monsters emerge from 100 yards from the surface of the earth. After spending some time with the weird old-timer, Adam is intrigued and goes out to the woods with a camera man to give Dekker the benefit of the doubt. They put up some cameras and manage to find some interesting footage, but nothing really substantial. Then Adam leaves for a month to attend a horror convention. He runs into several horror directors who all clown on Adam and tell him that they’ve also been approached by Dekker. Adam gets upset thinking this has all been a hoax. He confronts Dekker on camera and he claims Adam is the only director he’s approached. Adam’s editor goes through more footage and they find Dekker feeding the marrow hole with a spoon. Anxious to find out what’s really in the hole, they go to the spot without Dekker to see for themselves. Adam ends up losing a boot before Dekker scares them. They then get confronted by 3 of the creatures that attack them all and chase them away. The next day Adam and his camera man go back to Dekker’s house and find it cleaned out. There was a chained up door which is now opened and the only things left are shackles and piles of shit. Thinking Dekker went back to the Marrow, they return to the woods to find it filled in. Adam is distraught that he has hit a dead end…until one of the creatures films itself walking through Adam’s house and stands by his bed while he and his (now ex) wife (Rileah Vanderbilt) are sleeping, and then wakes them up.
The Good: Score by Bear McCeary. How in the hell…? Oh yeah he does the score for Holliston. It’s great to have friends in the business sometimes. Gwar fans can see Oderus Urungus for the last time. The cameos are just crazy, but they’re all plaing themselves. If you know horror, you’ll recognize a few. In the featurette Monsters of the Marrow, the crew gets excited about how one monster they named “Chicken” is equipped with an asshole and their enthusiasm is downright hilarious.
The Bad: For the amount of work that went into the creature creation, they’re hardly seen on screen. I wanted to see Chicken’s anus, and I was denied. I was denied a butthole. It was so obvious Chicken was on a track, and it looked really rough. The creature reminded me of Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal. Adam, please stick to directing. The concept was cool, but it just fell short for me. In the commentary Adam wants to stress the fact that this is not found footage. So are we supposed to just assume Adam and his wife didn’t die? Then why not show the aftermath of the jump scare? I’m disappointed and confused.
Digging Up The Marrow is a interesting take on the documentary/footage style horror film. Adam Green has a cool idea, but it’s lacking something I can’t quite grasp. This isn’t another jab at his acting, but maybe he could have seen it too without the pressure of being in front of the camera as well as behind. The CG effects could’ve been better, but not too good – it is supposed to be realistic, but the real stuff looked too cheap to look real. From the featurette, it appears that Adam and his friends had a blast working on this, and even if it was just for fun, it’s an adequate attempt at something new.
Acting: B
Story: D
Technical: B
Total Rating: C+
Reviewed by: JM Willis
