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| Lily Collins and Jamie Bower in City of Bones |
“Do
the Monster Mash”
A Review of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
MPAA Rating, PG-13
USCCB Rating, A-III
Reel Rating, Three Reels
Demons,
werewolves, and vampires! Oh my! The
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a monster mash of various paranormal
creatures all corralled together in a fun if confusing teen
romance/action-adventure movie with reasonable success. This description could
easily be used for a host of other series like The Vampires Diaries, Beautiful
Creatures, or Percy Jackson. Bones differs slightly by incorporating
more spiritual elements; the term “spiritual” and not “religious” is deliberate
because God is curiously absent in a world that otherwise contains a multitude
of heavenly and hellish beings. It’s scraping the bottom of the creative jar
but manages to pull out a few remaining morsels.
Clary
Frey’s life seems pretty dull, but that’s only because her memories have been
erased by a warlock. On a whim one night, she decides to enter a nightclub that
is way over her sixteen year-old maturity level with Simon, a cute hipster
hopelessly locked in the friendzone. Amongst the leather and bad music, she
sees a blonde hunk that is invisible to everyone else. Things only keep getting
weirder when she returns home to find her mother has been kidnapped and a
demon/squid creature attacks her. McSexy (his real name is Jace) returns to
kill the demon and rush Clary to safety in an old church called the Institute,
also hidden from “mundanes,” members of the human world. In quick exposition,
Jace explains that this world is guarded by shadowhunters, human/angel hybrids
of extraordinary abilities who keep the world safe from demons. “It’s a war we
cannot win, but a war that must be fought,” he explains, negating the Pascal
Mystery entirely. Jace needs Clary because she holds the key to finding the
Mortal Cup which created the first shadowhunters and is simultaneously pursed
by werewolves, vampires, demons, and Valentine, a rogue shadowhunter who is
trying to create a pure race out of human, angel, AND demon blood. If this all
seems ridiculous, that’s because sanity still exists in the movie going
audience. Yet Bones manages to rise
above its mundane premise, if only slightly, because it has moments of great
mystery and plucky supporting characters. There are crazy love triangles and
even love squares, with one revelation that was just as shocking as its twin
from a galaxy far, far away. The writers also get credit for having a huge CGI
fight between vampires and werewolves without cracking a single Twilight joke.
An
obvious weakness in Bones is mixing various
mythologies into one cohesive storyline, yet the writers are aware of this.
While showing Simon around the Institute, a shadowhunter lists off various ways
to kill demons, werewolves, and other creatures. “How do you kill a zombie?” he
asks. She gives him a quizzical look. “Zombies don’t exist.” Zombies and
vampires are rather similar and might be redundant in the same story. However,
if they suddenly showed up, it would have made for an even better joke.
With
all the talk of angels and demons, religion should play a major role, yet it is
reduced to a few tiny references. Before Clary and the shadowhunters fight the
vampires, they stop by a Catholic Church. Clary enquires if the shadowhunters
are Christian. Jace replies that they could just as easily visit any synagogue,
temple, or place of worship for what they needed. He then moves the altar and
opens a trapdoor to reveal a stash of vampire hunting equipment including knives,
whips, and a gun that shoots launches a stake. The Roman Missal states that
relics are placed beneath the altar; thank goodness Hollywood
has revealed to the public another safely guarded Vatican
secret. The origins of the shadowhunters should be easily recognizable to
anyone who has read Genesis, but the Nephilim are only mentioned in passing,
glossing over every geek’s favorite bible passage.
Even
more frustrating than the absence of the Nephilim, God appears nowhere. It is
incredible that so many demon or paranormal focused films have no interest in
the One who runs the show. This is probably an attempt to please everyone, like
Jace’s belief in the equality of all religions in the fight against vampires,
or a reflection of a society that is increasingly secular and skeptical.
However, it must be admitted that were God present, the stakes would be much
lower. Look at the last book of the Bible. As Dr. Ron Farmer points out in Revelation, the Apocalypse is one of the
most anti-climatic stories of all time. In chapter six, all the armies of
Heaven and Hell gather at Armageddon for the final battle, and the God simply
pronounces, “It is done!” God triumphs – end of story. While God is never
invoked, paranormal movies rarely have a problem with witches, spells, or runes.
Characters frequently circumnavigate God’s appointed spiritual routes to get
what they want. Demons are clearly bad but the occult is a gray area. Like Harry Potter, Bones will not cause teenagers to become Satanists, but it does
lower their sensitivity to dark places they should never go near.
This
movie can be a great experience if you are will put your brain in the seat next
to you, but Christians should never be willing to remove their soul to enjoy a
film. Bones is silly enough that its problematic
material will not be taken seriously, but it requires a more mature teenage
viewer to not passively accept incorrect theology. It still remains seen if Hollywood can make a
riveting paranormal action film where religion is shown in a respectful and
truthful manner. The few films that come close are almost always about
exorcism, which at least requires a Catholic priest. Bones is not such a film, but if werewolves vs. demons is what is
desired on a Friday night, it will do just fine. But again, why no zombies?
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on August 18th, 2013. http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/2530/do_the_monster_mash.aspx#.UjSlltKsg_o
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