Cinequest Film Festival – Writer/director Jack James’ Wild Bones is a film that establishes its dark tone immediately. It opens with Fay (Roxy Bugler) standing in front of a window, haunted by an eerie cigarette smoking figure painted black. She also tries to do what she used to love, dance, but when that fails, her body contorts into strange positions. It’s clear that the woman is on the cusp of a mental breakdown. While the feature feels disjointed at times, it does showcase what it’s like to be inside Faye’s troubled mind as her sanity wanes.

Faye reconnects with her sister, Alice (Mary Roubos), when their father disappears. Alice generally seems like she has her sister’s best intentions in mind. She obviously still loves her and wants to keep an eye on her. Things get a little more complicated, however, when Gary (Tom Cray) shows up. Faye takes a liking to him, but so does Alice. She wants to share him. Yet, something seems off about Gary, though it’s hard to pinpoint just what. Faye suspects he’s not telling the truth after he returns from an apparent trip. This causes her to lash out by biting his lip until blood smears her face. Ouch.

This is an unsettling feature overall. There are eerie images sprinkled throughout and a narrative that’s befuddling. It’s hard to tell what’s true and what isn’t, especially since Faye misremembers parts of the past. She’s convinced that their mother abused them, though there are hints that the father was the abuser. Perhaps he’s the cigarette smoking figure constantly appearing in uncanny visions. Faye also has scars from cigarette burns on her arm. Yet, there are no clear answers given. Does Faye misremember the past completely or not? Was the mom the abuser, or was it the father?  The mother does show up around the last 30 minutes, smoking, but she claims she wanted to protect her daughters from the father. Again, it’s unclear who to believe. That becomes a bit frustrating as the film goes on.

Whatever Faye endured traumatized her, to the point she has trouble piecing her memories together. The film is told mostly through her point of view, hence the strange sequences, eerie visions, and muddled narrative. But the film’s ambiguity doesn’t always work, and the ending is confounding. That said, there are plenty of positives here, including some generally hellish imagery and a chilling atmosphere in which fog rolls across the English countryside, where Faye has been hiding.

Wild Bones begins with a bleak sequence, and it never really lets up. There’s little to no levity. The sisters’ love for each other isn’t enough to overcome the demons. James really does a fine job establishing mood and tone. There’s more than one unnerving sequence here in a feature rich with nightmares. However, this film offers more questions than answers, and it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The mystery becomes a bit much. Not everything needs to be spelled out, but a little more clarity would have helped.

6.5 Out of 10