SHANNON’S DRIVE-IN: DIGGING UP THE MARROW

Shannon experiences the horror-comedy mockumentary Digging Up the Marrow and ponders the wonders of hidden monsters.

Documentary filmmakers are contacted by a man who claims monsters exist in a hidden underground world called “the Marrow.”

Director: Adam Green

Writer: Adam Green

Stars: Ray Wise, Adam Green, Will Barratt

“One hundred yards beneath the surface of the earth exists a metropolis that mirrors ours in very many respects. I call it the Marrow.”

So states the character of William Dekker (Ray Wise) in Adam Green’s Digging Up the Marrow. Dekker claims he has proof of an underground civilization full of monsters, but can he be trusted?

Adam Green and Will Barratt play themselves as a two-man documentary film crew. Green is contacted by retired detective Dekker who claims he can prove the existence of monsters. Unwilling to let this chance escape them, Green and Barratt take cameras and mics to Dekker’s house, where he shows artwork featuring these supposedly real monsters. Fascinated, Green goes deeper and deeper into the possibilities of what Dekker is saying, even going so far as going out in the middle of the night to hang around what Dekker claims to be the entrance to the Marrow.

As the story unfolds and small clues are placed in the crew’s path, Green grows as hopeful as a child, the possibility of monsters latching onto him as he grows more wide-eyed and excited as the story progresses, a monster kid all grown up. Though on the flip side, there’s the sense that Dekker might not be all there in the sanity department. At times he talks over Green and gets belligerent when questioned further on the facts of his suggestions. It’s enough to poke holes in the story he’s giving Green, leaving a trail of doubt to sift through.

Wise gives a nuanced performance as both a man you want to follow and learn more from, but that logical side of the brain makes you question him. Green, on the other hand, is like a child, hoping (maybe a little too much) for monsters to exist. At times it can come off as unrealistic…do horror fans really count finding monsters as one of their desires? But Green’s infectious hopefulness sells it.

The film is very subtle in its execution, focusing more on the characters and the mystery to drive the story. There are pops of humor throughout, keeping the movie from taking itself too seriously. Special effects are sparse, being regulated to specific parts of the film, but when they do happen, they are impressive. It gives clout to Green as a filmmaker; he had previously created the over-the-top gorefest that is the Hatchet series before this film. Digging Up the Marrow is the opposite, the more subdued part of what he’s capable of, and I’m here for it.

The film starts with a simple idea and keeps it that way. It doesn’t get bogged down with filler, making the film a quick watch about the search for monsters in the real world. It also works as a small companion piece to the movie Nightbreed. While Nightbreed is bigger and explores the relationships between humans and a community of monsters, Digging Up the Marrow focuses on a more intimate subset of the discovery of monsters (even the character of William Dekker shares a similar surname with Nightbreed character Philip Decker, played by David Cronenberg).

Digging Up the Marrow is a small, restrained movie that remains a little bit hidden under the covers from public view, but that’s not a bad thing. I’ve loved this movie for years, but to hype it up as something more immense is disingenuous; it shouldn’t be postured as bigger than it needs to be because that could turn people off to it. Sometimes a movie is best when it’s allowed to be a small dark ride instead of a giant roller coaster of thrills, and we’re better off for it.

Shannon Grant is a writer, performer, adventurer, and horned cryptid living in the wilds of upstate New York. Her work can be found in many small press anthologies such as A Guide to Useless Sidekicks, Catskill Chaos, and The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. She is currently at work on a vampire novella. When not writing, she can be found haunting drive-in movie theaters, karaoke bars, and looking for ghosts in the woods.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.