Bone Hill – Movie Review (2/5)

BONE HILL is a horror movie with a supernatural plot based on Native American lore. I applaud the idea and core premise, but the execution and delivery of the story leave much to be desired. It’s not a bad movie, but it isn’t particularly good either. Overall, it left me quite torn as to how I should judge it. Read our Bone Hill (2025) movie review here!

BONE HILL is a 2025 Native American supernatural horror movie based on a book by Wil Radcliffe. The Potawatomi Tribe even helped Wil Radcliffe with historical accuracy for the book. Whether any of them were involved with the making of this movie, I don’t know.

Overall, the story isn’t terribly strong, but it’s the overall execution of the storytelling that did not win me over. I appreciate and applaud the idea, but I was not impressed with the movie. A real shame, as I was on board with the kitsch B-movie style to make the most of the low budget. However, the budget doesn’t matter when the storytelling isn’t stronger.

Continue reading our Bone Hill (2025) movie review below.

An ancient Native American curse

With Bone Hill, we’re getting a story set in the back country of Michigan. We meet a man struggling with grief, who is forced to find his way back to life as his skills are needed. A young woman is suffering what appears to be a possible mental breakdown.

However, we know from the opening scene that something much more sinister is going on. An ancient Native American curse has come to life, and it’s creating havoc here deep in a small town in Michigan.

From the beginning, I was a little on the fence about several storytelling choices.

Once wind and something akin to lightning appear in a room as the afflicted young woman starts speaking in tongues, I was both intrigued and annoyed. No one seems to particularly appreciate the fact that something very strange just happened.

Also, the crusty lips and pitch black drool from someone cursed just felt like almost any and every exorcism movie I’ve ever watched. Good as well as bad. And there was nothing particularly good about the way it was utilized in Bone Hill.

From there, nothing much surprised me. I did appreciate the few times a character would point out something strange that annoyed me as a viewer. But this didn’t happen nearly enough to excuse the many stereotypical elements.

Watch Bone Hill on Digital now

Bone Hill comes from director Daniel Falicki and screenwriter Wil Radcliffe. It’s based on the book of the same name by the same author, who gets his screenwriter debut here. He even worked with the Potawatomi Tribe in Southwest Michigan for historical accuracy.

I’m not sure this did much good for the movie, as it plays out in the present and focuses on a curse running wild in our modern day. Despite a low budget, I feel I could have expected more. Just look at a movie like the recently reviewed Frankie, Maniac Woman. A perfect example of why we always take a chance on indie productions!

For the record, I do not want to diss Bone Hill in any way. I can see what they wanted to achieve and love how they approached it. However, I also feel they held back or took directions that did nothing good for the storytelling or movie-watching experience.

And please, for the love of horror, do something other than crusty lips and black drool paired with strange blue lighting to create scary moments. I can only speak for myself, of course, but it has the opposite impact on me. I get so distracted by these things that I don’t find it scary at all.

BONE HILL has been picked up by Indie Rights for worldwide distribution and is out on digital now.

Details

Director: Daniel Falicki
Writer: Wil Radcliffe
Stars: Abby R Mooring, Jeremy Koch, James Whitecloud, Penelope Alex, Roger Callard, Scott T. Whitesell