The True Story Behind Boneyard

Boneyard is inspired by (and fairly closely based on) the true crime case of West Mesa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, just like in the movie. The film is also dedicated to the victims of that unsolved case.

While the West Mesa case remains unsolved, we do know that the remains discovered in 2009 belonged to girls and women. Also, we know that they disappeared between 2001 and 2005.

The 11 victims in the true case are:

Jamie Barela, age 15
Monica Candelaria, age 22
Victoria Chavez, age 26
Virginia Cloven, age 24
Syllannia Edwards, age 15
Cinnamon Elks, age 32
Doreen Marquez, age 24
Julie Nieto, age 24
Veronica Romero, age 28
Evelyn Salazar, age 27
Michelle Valdez, age 22

At one point, the unknown serial killer is called the “Bone Collector” which threw me off. However, this was one of the names used for the suspected serial killer. The complete name used for him was “West Mesa Bone Collector“.

Language: Hindi

Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Cast: Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Tanya Maniktala, Abhishek Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Adrija Sinha, Harsh Chhaya

 It’s true that we don’t really need stars to make a successful film. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Kill has totally killed it with all its energy.  It is fresh, bold and a unique story that not many have thought about and that’s what makes it different. Violent no doubt, but don’t most movies have an element of violence?

I believe Kill is a path breaking Indian action film, but definitely not for the faint heart. It is true that I am not too fond of extreme bloodshed, murder and also not to forget the smashing of head scenes. But keeping my choices aside, I would say Kill is a well-made film and the action sequences are simply mind-blowing. Having watched the movie at the
Red Sea International Film Festival
last year for the first time, I wonder, why did it take so long for the film to be released in India?

It’s insanely violent. What works for Kill is the simple storyline and no beating around the bush. Not much twist and turns and most importantly hitting the hammer right on the nail and sometimes on the people too. The action takes place inside the train with no unnecessary drama, dancing and singing. The concept is daring and fresh for the Indian audience and that makes 
Kill
 stand out. No flying cars, choppers and superman stunts and most importantly actors like Lakshya, Raghav Juyal and the battalion of dacoits are relatable to the Indian audience. They look like ordinary guys and that’s what makes them special. Lakshya plays the role of an army man, Amrit who is a great boyfriend to Tulika played by Tanya Maniktala.

Lakshya has done a brilliant job, but the actor to look out for is Raghav Juyal. He has a promising career ahead of him. He is one evil character you can’t stop hating. Raghav’s performance is intense and the dialogue delivery, expressions, and every action is absolutely compelling. I must say that this man truly knows his craft. The best thing that the movie brings out is that murderers too have emotions.

If you are looking for a high energy action film 
Kill
 is one such must watch. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’ has no doubt done a brilliant job as a director, but without cinematographer Rafey Mehmood probably this film wouldn’t have been such a hit. The best part about the film Kill is that not even once will you get bored. No matter how much at times I hated the gory action scenes and tried closing my eyes, the more I got interested in what’s happening next. The discomfort of the blood splatter, the punching, kicking, stabbing and smashing of head all in a train will surely make you think twice before booking a train ticket next time!

Rating: 4 out of 5

WATCH the trailer of Kill here: 

“A Quiet Place: Day One” made a grave miscalculation with its advertising. Scenes were filmed with the intention of putting them in the trailers, but not the movie. This way, when people saw the movie, they wouldn’t be able to properly anticipate the surprises and story progression. To that end, the advertising succeeded, I was indeed thrown off while watching the movie. But here’s where they didn’t succeed: the scenes shot just for the trailers were terrible, with clumsy dialogue and careless pacing. I was so mad at Hollywood for continuing this series without the creative vision of director John Krasinski, especially when the movie looked like garbage without his input. I only saw this movie out of obligation for the column, and I wouldn’t be surprised if fans of the series stayed away entirely because of those awful trailers. But it turns out that not only is this movie better than the trailers, it’s better than the two installments that Krasinski directed.

“Day One” casts aside the familiar Abbott family in favor of new protagonist Sam (Lupita Nyong’o). Sam is a cancer patient taking a trip from her hospice to Manhattan along with her nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff) and service cat Frodo. Sam only agrees to the trip on the condition that the group stop for pizza at her favorite place in Harlem. The sudden invasion of echolocating aliens means a delay in pizza. Honestly, Sam is only interested in self-preservation to the end that it means eventual pizza.

Sam shelters in place for a bit with Reuben, who has a great scene where he stares down an alien like he’s staring down death itself. Also in the shelter is familiar character Henri (Djimon Hounsou) from “Part II” of the series, here forced to make an unthinkable decision. She moves on to helping some children in Central Park before finding a companion in anxious wreck Eric (Joseph Quinn). Can the two survive in alien-infested New York long enough to get a slice of pizza? If so, what happens after that?

“Day One” has the most suspense yet for a “Quiet Place” movie. It was scary enough that characters had to keep quiet to save their lives on a family farm or in small town. But in New York, the noises are as big as the pizzas. Speaking of food, I wonder if the characters’ best bet for survival would be to let the aliens fill up on noisy people and then hope they’re too stuffed to give chase. Maybe that’s why the film’s biggest flaw is that the main characters get away with making as much noise as they do.

The film does an excellent job of wringing scares out of not only the slightest sounds, but loud-looking images. Even with everybody promising to be quiet, a crowd of people is going to make noise eventually, that’s just how crowds are. So if the characters find themselves as part of a crowd, the clock is already ticking. And that’s with a reasonable amount of effort being made. Some people just aren’t cut out for quiet, and associating with those people in this environment could prove fatal.

“A Quiet Place: Day One” had me afraid to breathe loudly in the theater, a testament to the film’s immersiveness. And yet, the suspenseful atmosphere is only the second-best thing about the movie. The real star here is, well, the star: Lupita Nyong’o. This movie doesn’t have returning players John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, or even recent Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, and Nyong’o makes up for all of them. One way or another, Sam doesn’t have much time left on this Earth, but you’ll want to be there for every moment. It took until nearly the exact halfway point of the year, but I think we have our first serious contender for an acting Oscar. Not bad for a movie whose advertising had me thinking it would be one of the worst films of the year.

Grade: B

“A Quiet Place: Day One” is rated PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images. Its running time is 100 minutes.

Robert R. Garver is a graduate of the Cinema Studies program at New York University. His weekly movie reviews have been published since 2006.