Review: Stephen King’s Bag of Bones Miniseries

Stephen King was a big part of horror television in the 90’s. Networks weren’t really pushing the limits of TV at the time, so Stephen King-based miniseries always stood out as something special. With bigger budgets and usually a movie actor or two, Stephen King miniseries were huge TV events.

There have been a dozen or so Stephen King-related TV projects, and director Mick Garris has been involved in a number of them, having directed The Stand, The Shining, Desperation, and his most recent project, Bag of Bones.

Unfortunately for Bag of Bones, the TV landscape has changed quite a bit and a TV miniseries doesn’t have the same impact it used to. When TV shows on basic cable have movie-like budgets, talented actors, and quality special effects, how does a miniseries stand out? In the case of Bag of Bones, they hired Pierce Brosnan to add a Hollywood name to the project. Thanks to his performance, the miniseries is mildly-entertaining to watch, instead of what could have been a huge disappointment on all fronts.

Pierce Brosnan plays the role of writer Michael Noonan, who visits a small Maine town when an unexpected event leaves him searching for answers about his life and relationships. His grandfather left him a cabin on Dark Score Lake and Noonan encounters forces both natural and supernatural that compel him to explore the town’s secrets.

A&E is promoting the show with frightening imagery, but this isn’t a scary movie. Instead, think of it more as a drama/mystery with supernatural elements. I often talk about having the right expectations going into a movie and it’s the same here. Bag of Bones is split into two parts and the audience is going to find the first part a bit slow moving, due to character introductions and story building that leads up to part two. Considering that most horror films are less than 2 hours, the first part will probably feel a bit underwhelming for those that see it split up.

Part two picks up the pace, but by the time Bag of Bones is over, it really feels like the creative team didn’t have a grasp on the pacing and material. The miniseries retains the basic elements of Stephen King’s novel, but the story was altered to make it easier for the audience to understand, and to speed up the action in part two. Unfortunately, the last 15-20 minutes really deviate from the novel and attempt to conclude the story in a way that is streamlined and more satisfying for a general audience. Everything is wrapped up too quickly, and is unconvincing and unsatisfying after watching 2+ hours of build-up. Combined with scenes and dialogue throughout the miniseries that are unintentionally funny, or too cliché to take seriously, it feels like the cast is being wasted.

At this point into the review, you may think I hated the miniseries, but that isn’t the case. The miniseries is mildly entertaining to watch due to Pierce Brosnan’s performance that saves this miniseries from being a total disaster. Anyone who has seen Brosnan in his James Bond movies knows that he has enough charisma to keep the audience watching, and it is the same case for Bag of Bones. He plays the role well, keeps your interest, and makes you care about character and the predicament he’s in.

Minus commercials, the miniseries clocks in around 3 hours. That’s obviously longer than a feature film, yet I feel like I didn’t really know any of the characters besides Mike Noonan. Most of the characters felt one-dimensional and were talking as if they were explaining the story to the audience, rather than to the characters they were interacting with. For the material they had to work with, Melissa George, Caitlin Carmichael, and Matt Frewer do a fine job. Unfortunately, all characters have a very limited amount of screen time compared to Pierce Brosnan. Many of these characters had a bigger presence in the novel, but their role was diminished for the miniseries.

In terms of the look of the miniseries, Bag of Bones is on par with a big TV production or feature film. Mick Garris definitely did a good job with the budget he had at his disposal, and for the format this adaptation was designed for. However, I really felt that a four-hour miniseries was the wrong format for the adaptation, given the material and talent involved.

I could easily see this being turned into a 6-episode miniseries or a regular TV series, which would allow us to really get into the characters and backstory of Dark Score Lake. Alternatively, I think someone like Frank Darabont, who also has plenty of experience on King adaptations, could have done a great job with a 3 hour feature film along the lines of The Green Mile. Unfortunately, Mick Garris just didn’t have the budget or kind of script necessary to turn this into something special.

Bag of Bones really shows how far along TV productions have improved since the heyday of Stephen King miniseries in the 90’s. While Bag of Bones would have been a big event on network TV in the past, it feels like it’s behind the times. I place much of the blame on poor pacing and dialogue in the script, but Pierce Brosnan's performance still keeps your interest throughout the miniseries. Bag of Bones isn’t a complete failure, but in this day and age, it will take more effort to turn a Stephen King miniseries into a major TV event.

Score: 2/5