No bones about it

Bones

Starring Snoop Dogg

Bones

Starring Snoop Dogg

13 Ghosts

Starring Tony Shalhoub and Shannon Elizabeth

In case you haven’t gotten enough of Halloween, “13 Ghosts” and “Bones” join “Don’t Say a Word,” “From Hell,” and “Joy Ride” as movies to give you a fright this Halloween.

In “Bones,” Patrick (Khalil Kain), an upper-middle class youth plans to start a dance club in his father’s old neighborhood by renovating an old building that was last owned by a man named Jimmy Bones.

During his heyday, Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg), known only by rhymes, ruled the neighborhood with “gold plated deuce, like the king of Siam, a switch blade loose and a diamond on his hand.”

Patrick and his four friends find Jimmy Bones’ body in the old building. “Odd that he would stab himself in the chest, and bury himself,” one of the teens remarks. Through flashbacks we learn Jimmy Bones’ story and his connection to the teenagers.

Is it scary?

The first 45 minutes are a thrill ride that left me pinned to my seat. I now have an everlasting phobia of maggots. But the scares quickly turn to spectacles during the last half of this movie. The focus of the last half of “Bones” seems to be less on fright, and more on looking neat. Decapitated heads that talk and trips to hell are fun, but not scary.

Where “Bones” manages 45 minutes of true fright, “13 Ghosts” conjures up a full ride. By focusing less on plot and more on scaring people, “13 Ghosts” provides a great show. The story is just enough. A rich collector named Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham) had collected 12 ghosts, but is killed after he traps the 13th one.

Cyrus leaves his estate to his nephew Arthur (Tony Shalhoub) and his two children Bobby and Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth). The family travels to see Cyrus’ beautiful estate, which is made of glass.

“Don’t throw stones, kids,” Arthur remarks. Unknown to Arthur, the ghosts that Cyrus collected power the estate. The house’s labyrinthine setup and the ghosts’ freakish appearances make “13 Ghosts” a hair-raiser.

“13 Ghosts” is perfect for getting into a Halloween mood, the ghosts are great looking and the set is wonderful. The house comes with shifting glass walls that allow the ghosts, shown only through choppy jump cuts, to scare even the strongest-willed moviegoer.

— Oliver B. Johnson III, staff writer