213 Bones (2025)

For my 213 Bones review, I went in expecting a pretty straightforward slasher movie, and that's exactly what I got. It doesn't really bring anything new to the subgenre, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It checks most of the boxes you'd expect from a slasher, and as someone who enjoys these kinds of movies, I had a decent time with it. Sometimes you're just in the mood for a slasher, and this one does enough to scratch that itch.

The story follows a pretty large and diverse group of characters, some who are friends and some who aren't. A lot of them share the same class, so it makes sense that their paths would cross, but somehow they all seem to keep running into each other everywhere they go. It's one of those things you just have to go along with, and honestly, it's not that big of a deal. The acting is solid enough across the board, too. Nobody really stood out to me, but I didn't think anyone gave a bad performance either.

As far as the mystery goes, I figured out who the killer was pretty early. I think the movie tries a little too hard to throw suspicion on different characters, especially with these slow pans into people's faces that seem designed to make you question whether they're involved. After a while, those moments actually started making me laugh. I don't think that was the intention, but I got a kick out of it.

The kills are also a little different from what I typically expect in a slasher. Most of them happen pretty quickly. Someone gets stabbed a couple of times, and that's about it. There's not a lot of elaborate setup or over-the-top brutality, at least until we get closer to the climax. I would've liked to see a little more creativity there, but the movie keeps things moving, and I can appreciate that.

If there's one area where I think the movie really could've benefited from something more, it's the score. Even during the kill scenes, the music stays pretty subdued, and I think some bigger musical moments could've added a lot to the tension and excitement. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the needle drops. There are some great song choices throughout that took me right back to when I was younger, and those were fun moments.

The killer's motivation didn't completely work for me either. It's not ridiculous, but it's also not particularly strong. I would've liked a little more there to make the reveal feel more satisfying.

At the end of the day, 213 Bones is a decent slasher that plays things pretty safe. It doesn't reinvent anything, and there are definitely areas where it could've done more, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. If you're a slasher fan, I think there's enough here to keep you entertained. Not every horror movie has to do something groundbreaking, and sometimes a straightforward slasher is perfectly fine.