Why so much hype?

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I don't believe the producers of this film ever intended it to be taken seriously. Throughout the movie there are such logical weaknesses in the plot (and in the dialog!) that I found myself literally laughing out loud. Like when they kept firing bullets into a swarm of ants. And when they left the vehicle and hiked miles away after they had already been spotted by a rescue plane. That's when it hit me that this whole movie was meant to be taken with tongue planted firmly in check -- pure CAMP at its best. If you watch the movie in that mindset, you'll have a great time watching it. This movie really needs to be shown with someone like "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" chiming in her sardonic comments after some of the particularly ludicrous actions taken by the wretched idiots on the screen. Even an occasional "Oh, puh-leese" would have really contributed to the enjoyment of this firm.

"The Bone Snatcher" is all that engrossing a creature feature.**SPOILERS**Hoping to find a cause for a series of strange disappearances, Dr. Zach Straker, (Scott Bairstow) is sent to South Africa and is placed on an expedition with fellow workers Mikki, (Rachel Shelley) Karl, (Warrick Grier) Titus, (Patrick Shai) and Kurt, (Andre Weideman) to a previous expedition's campsite. Finding only bloody remains and strange pock-marked tracks in the sand, they suspect a crew member went berserk rather than the evidence that points to something else. The group is eventually stranded in the desert and wait out until they can get rescued, and eventually comes under attack from a small army of flesh-eating ants. After having survived a series of attacks from the ants, which they learn could assume human size using discarded bones, they try to find a way to battle the voracious insects.The Good News: There wasn't a whole lot here that was worthwhile, but it was decent enough. The story is actually pretty clever, and actually has some potential with a cool creature premise and a unique setting. The main idea for the monster is a fairly clever twist, and it allows for a couple of great moments. The two night-time attacks are the main examples, and are pretty clever. The desert does at times look very foreboding and some great atmosphere is derived from it in the beginning. Other than that, though, that's about it.The Bad News: A couple of decent scenes aside, there isn't a whole lot either. The fact that there's so much time in between attacks in the film is hardly acceptable, as it wastes time by having the characters doing absolutely nothing. All we get is pointless bickering and wandering around the desert, and that's all there is. The first half moves very slowly and doesn't really do much to alter that. It's hard to sit through when the monster isn't on-screen. The monster itself isn't that threatening to begin with, being on-screen for only a couple times throughout the film and that really takes the fear out of it. The incredibly short attack scenes are over so fast that they're over before you have a chance to really see what's going on, and they're all really underwhelming. There's a couple of other little things here and there that weren't that spectacular, and don't really need explaining.The Final Verdict: A nice concept and an original creature don't mean much of it's not on-screen or attacks so non-eventfully. It had potential, which is sad as it could've been so much better, so give it a shot if you enjoy the Sci-Fi Channel films or enjoy the lower end of the scale of films.Rated R: Language and Violence

This movie was only vaguely entertaining. I thought it looked like a cool movie, but I was in for a very nasty surprise. The plot had potential at first, but when the film started running it started going down, down to the point where one does not care anymore. The plot had slowed down to less than a crawl by the time they killed the monster. The monster was original I have to admit, a bunch of man-eating ants that needed the bones of their victims to move around was okay. The actors, on the other hand, were boring beyond imagining. The "cute bimbo" of the film looked a lot like a Neanderthal ape and the other actors were annoying, especially King Kong Karl as I came to call him, because of his rash, stupid actions. Another annoying character in the film was Judgement Day Magda, a complete and utter religious fanatic, she ends up as ant chow fortunately. King Kong Karl playing intrepid detective was the most pathetic part of the film. The film includes a lot of trekking through grandiose arid scenery, so much of it you end up thinking this is a National Geographic documentary. Things I learned from this movie: -The local Namib Desert folk make ugly, cheap-looking talismans to ward off man-eating ants. -Truck drivers are all religious fanatics. -A man-eating ant colony looks always surprisingly empty of ants.

The Bone Snatcher starts in the 'Nambi Desert South Africa' where Clive (Sean Higgs), Paul (Langley Kirkwood) & Harvey (Jan Ellis) three diamond prospectors are, well prospecting for diamonds. Unfortunatelty for them they discover something rather nasty lurking under the sand... Jump to 'Vancouver British Columbia' where systems analyst Dr. Zack Straker (Scott Bairstow) is told that he has to go to the Namib Desert to do a bit of field work, analysing systems I guess. Jump back to the Namib Desert & Zack has arrived at 'Eland Mining', he has to pass security before he is driven to the main complex. The three prospectors have been reported missing & the security guys are going to pick them up on the way, attractive female Mikki (Rachel Shelly), Karl (Warrick Grier), Titus (Patrick Shai), Kurt (Andre Weiman) & the driver Magda (Adrienne Pierce) are the rescue team. It's not long before they run into the prospectors abandoned truck & nearby discover the remains of two of them, the bones stripped of all the flesh. Karl decides the third prospector was responsible & they set off in search of him but only find his bones as well, they also discover that there is something nasty out there lurking in the bleak isolation of the Desert...This English, Canadian & South African co-production was directed by Jason Wulfsohn & is fair to middling entertainment. The script by Malcolm Kohll & Gordon Render is a little slow to get going, after the three prospectors meet their ends at the start no-one else dies for over 40 minutes & is rather clichéd, the attractive female, the computer nerd, the tough macho guy, the religious nut-case there to add a supernatural spin on things &, of course, the disposable character's merely there to die & do very little else. The creature itself is disappointing in the sense that it turns out to be a collection of ants that steal peoples bones so they can use them as a skeleton & walk around, why exactly? Surely just walking across the ground would be just as efficient? Add that to the fact that all they want to do is find a new nest & aren't bothered about killing anyone it all becomes rather lacklustre & dull. I don't particularly understand the need to hunt them down & destroy them either, as I've said they don't purposely set out to kill anyone & they are buried deep in the Namib Desert far from civilisation. Having said that it provides fair entertainment & is far from the worse horror film ever but at the same time far from the best & in keeping with the rest of the film the climax is dull & by-the-numbers.Director Wulfsohn can't exactly do much with the monotonous Desert locations & it starts to get tedious to look at. Most of it takes place during broad daylight which doesn't help the atmosphere & it lacks any real tension or excitement. Forget about any gore because there isn't any, a few bones & someone has their arm devoured. The creature itself is a mixture of both CGI & traditional puppet effects which are decent enough & look OK.With a surprisingly healthy $6,000,000 budget The Bone Snatcher comes across as a missed opportunity & where did all the money go exactly? The entire thing is set in the Desert, the creature & CGI effects are used sparingly, there are no action scenes or big set pieces & no big name actors. Six big ones sounds like a lot of money considering what ended up on screen. The acting is annoying & most of the cast talk in thick South African accents which sometimes makes it a bit difficult to understand them.The Bone Snatcher is an OK way to pass 85 minutes but is far from spectacular, in fact average is the word I'd use. I can't say I hated it but I can't say I liked either, disappointing.