Mark (Terrence Howard) lives with his wife, Valentina (Valery M. Ortiz), and their daughter, Jenny (Appy Pratt), in a peaceful home. One morning, Mark prepares himself for work, speaking positively about himself to build confidence and ask for a pay raise. Meanwhile, Valentina sees something strange and spooky in their home kitchen: a ghost or spirit lurking behind her daughter Jenny. Although she only sees the ghostly presence briefly, Valentina feels uneasy and concerned but soon brushes it off and continues about her day.
When Mark goes to work, instead of getting a pay raise, he’s let go and fired due to the tough economy. At the same time, Valentina, who is highly religious, seeks advice from a local priest about what she saw in the morning. She hopes to find answers and alleviate any worries. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse. Jenny’s new medical tests reveal that her cancer has spread to her brain, and the insurance is unable to cover her treatment costs. Mark, who is now unemployed, desperately searches for a way to pay for his daughter’s urgent chemotherapy.
When he turns to his older brother Andres (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who was recently released from prison, for advice, Andres suggests that Mark speak to a local mobster named Miguel (Reno Reyes). Mark makes a dangerous deal with Miguel to get money, but the cash is still insufficient to cover all the hospital fees. Mark and Valentina are increasingly desperate to save their daughter and turn to a psychic adviser. Unfortunately, it’s more bad news for them. When they meet Luc (Udo Kier), who is experienced in such disheartening situations, they delve deeper into the darkness to save their daughter, and they must ask themselves how far they will go.
Skeletons in the Closet is a horror film directed by Asif Akbar, who has previously directed Commando (2022) and The Curse of the Clown Motel (2023) and is known for his horror and action movies. Skeletons in the Closet is a horror film with a ghostly tale. I had high expectations for this horror film, given the impressive cast, including Cuba Gooding Jr. However, I was left disappointed for many reasons, one being that the dialogue felt more appropriate for a daytime soap opera, as did the clichéd subplots. The characters of Mark and Valentina were not very likable as they made one poor decision after another, despite the availability of better options around them. Watching their choices unfold was frustrating, and the lack of emotions displayed on-screen was surprising and baffling, especially considering the amount of tragedy, problems, and horror depicted. Even when Valentina briefly sees a ghost near her daughter in the opening scene, she doesn’t seem suitably frightened. Instead, she keeps it to herself, not screaming, not alerting anyone around her. As the film progresses, the lack of emotions becomes more absurd and cringe-worthy.
Horror fans will also be disappointed with the look of the ghost. The visuals here look cheap; again, feeling like they were made for free-to-air TV. Nothing on screen is scary but rather silly and weak, and the loud attempts at jump scares don’t help the film either. The story piqued my curiosity, as I wanted to understand why the family was experiencing such horrible events and why Valentina kept seeing a ghost, but the film moved slowly and felt repetitive with an evident conclusion.
Overall, I found Skeletons in the Closet to be an unimpressive horror film with an evil spirit that failed to create scares and tension. The plot is filled with soap drama clichés, the dialogue is poor, and the main characters repeatedly make bad decisions, which are painful to watch. Despite a cast that included Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Mandylor, and Udo Kier, the film still managed to miss the mark. I was even more disappointed that the finale was evident before it concluded. Unfortunately, all these incidents are becoming more and more common for director Asif Akbar, whose films continually lack any form of joy, depth and quality.
Skeletons in the Closet (2024) is Available exclusively on Shudder from May 3rd.
2.7/10
28th April 2024
Written by Peter Walkden
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