SKELETON MAN

A skeleton, wrapped in a black cloak, rides a horse killing anyone it encounters, including a military team from a special forces unit of the U.S. Army that was training in the woods. A rescue team is sent to the scene of the disappearance to discover what happened, but, one by one, all the soldiers will have to face the skeleton. Surely, even from the stupid plot, one can tell what kind of low-quality product this is. At the end of the stressful viewing, the viewer can only wonder what on earth went through the mind of the subject writer, screenwriter, or whoever takes their place: a living, hooded skeleton on a horse? A platoon of soldiers belonging to a special team who behave like timid boy scouts? And what do Native Americans have to do with this mess? None of these questions will be answered, and the idiocy of this film will culminate in an action finale set in a "who-knows-what" factory, with a massacre of workers and continuous explosions. The editing of the film in question is among the worst ever seen, with scenes re-edited multiple times and a construction often lacking logical and temporal coherence. No need to mention the look of the skeleton: an actor with a fake carnival (or Halloween, given that it's a North American product) mask and a ridiculously oversized hood. Then, the viewer is not told where the skeleton gets the weapons with which it kills (axe, medieval sword, bow, lances...) and how it manages to appear and disappear continuously (magical powers?). Add ridiculous and often nonsensical dialogue; childish direction by a certain Johnny Martin (a stuntman by profession! Who knows how he earned the title of director!) and terrible actors, including the inexpressive Casper Van Dien, star of B-action movies. What remains? Some gore scenes, with severed heads and impalements, and Michael Rooker, a good actor (unforgettable his performance in "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer") inexplicably ending up in this useless and infantile trash fest. Avoid without hesitation!