- Network: A&E
- Series Premiere Date: Dec 11, 2011
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Critic Reviews
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It's a genuinely chilling four-hour adaptation of the tireless horror-meister's 1998 bestseller.
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Bag of Bones is occasionally hokey, and Brosnan overworks his mad cackling, but the production is never less than creepily engaging. [19 Dec 2011, p.72]
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Compared with (sigh) "American Horror Story," the tale itself makes a certain amount of sense and like any good thrill ride, spaces out the scary parts just enough to make them truly scary.
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Brosnan remains totally believable whether he's borderline batty or bravely resilient. [19 Dec 2011, p.44]
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While the pace of the series definitely picks up in the second night, Bag of Bones doesn't pull off the scares of King's previous works such as Misery" or "The Shining" nor does it have the poignancy of his "The Shawshank Redemption."
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Sure, there are some fun moments. Sure Brosnan looks mah-velous. He always does. But a little less plodding plot and a lot more action, please.
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There are elements on night one that actually are pretty darned scary. Too bad there's a night two.
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Bag of Bones isn't completely devoid of suspense, but it's a lot less satisfying than many other, far superior King adaptations.
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It's just a collection of creepy imagery, lots of screaming and the occasional musical number for Anika Noni Rose.
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Although it is far from the worst King adaptation (would that be "Dreamcatcher"? "Lawnmower Man"?) it feels less like a ghost story than a dashed-together homage to the King oeuvre that's slow where it should be fast and fast where it should be slow.
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Handsomely shot and deliberately paced, it has a superficially cinematic quality, but it doesn't have the storytelling juice to keep you engaged in Mr. King's convoluted multi-ghost story.
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This Bag is sadly empty of surprises.
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Like everything else in A&E's Bag of Bones, it is hollow and--boo!--not scary.
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Bag of Bones feels a little skeletal.
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It starts slow, moves slowly and goes nowhere.
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With tepid performances and a lifeless script, Bag of Bones feels like more of a chore than a television viewing experience.
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At points, Bag of Bones plays less like a horror story than a fond parody of one.
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A deplorably dull two-night miniseries.
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Bag of Bones rarely scares but frequently induces unintentional giggles.
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Another King production that begins with glimmers of promise and winds up being bad to the Bones.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 15
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Mixed: 8 out of 15
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Negative: 3 out of 15
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Dec 17, 2011
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Dec 12, 2011