Title: Digging Up the Marrow (2015)
Director: Adam Green
Runtime: 98 minutes

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Adam Green is one of the smartest horror filmmakers on the market right now. This all stems from his Holliston TV series, which if you haven’t seen, you need to, because it’s fantastic. It’s a blend of Friends and horror. I mention Holliston not just because I like it, but because I feel it sets the groundwork for Digging Up the Marrow. To tell you what Digging Up the Marrow is about would ruin the experience, and per Adam’s request, I’ll do my best not to spoil the film, which is harder than one might think.

Adam receives a letter from a former police detective of the Boston PD who now lives in California. Inside this letter is a story Adam just can’t believe. This man, Dekker, claims that not only are monsters real, but that they live underground, creating their own world beneath the very streets we walk on. These aren’t your typical “monsters”, but rather deformed kids who just vanish one day, and no one gives a second thought.

Adam sets out with his cameraman, Will Barratt, to find out if this man is crazy, or if there really is a “Marrow”. To venture any further would ruin the experience, but if you’re a horror fan, or an Adam Green fan, then Digging Up the Marrow  is worth checking out.

The trailer gives the impression that this is a found footage film. It’s not. It’s filmed like an edited documentary, with camera feed footage added in. It’s clear that this is a product of love as we see not just Adam and Will, but everyone who makes up Adam’s film life, be it his film editor, his wife, or the people behind the scenes at the studio. These glimpses add the humor the film needs because Adam is rather sarcastic while on-screen, obviously not believing Dekker’s crazy story.

Alex Pardee is a name I never heard of before, but this film is based on some of his art, which can be seen on Dekker’s walls throughout the movie. These macabre designs are fantastic, and as I think about it, I wish I’d gabbed a few from the event I attended.

There’s so much more I want to say about Digging Up the Marrow, but I feel like it would alter the experience that I had, which was fantastic on so many levels. This is the first solid horror film of 2015, and hopefully these two work together more because the chemistry between Adam and Alex in person is like seeing two brothers hanging out, and their collaboration that has come to life on the big screen is horror at its finest. Digging Up the Marrow  blends the age old saying of “life imitating art”, with a dash of horror, and while it isn’t perfect, it’s damn near close.

Digging Up the Marrow is available today on Video on Demand, and March 24, 2015 on DVD and Blu-ray.

Chris Ranson

Chris was raised on horror films, which gave him a deep love for the genre, especially its most quirky and offbeat titles (like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2). This love quickly turned into an obsession for cinema in 1997, when he decided he needed to see every major theatrical release. Video games (JRPGs), reading (anything but fantasy), and reality television (Survivor) are just some of his other passions. He’s been with Cinefessions since 2013, and has been writing reviews all over the internet for the past twelve years.