The Bone Collector (1999)

The Bone Collector parents guide

Nothing past what an R promises: moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Bone Collector scary?

Only a little. The Bone Collector has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is The Bone Collector?

Graphic gore and strong violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is The Bone Collector rated, and is it OK for kids?

Moderate sex and nudity, strong violence, and some strong language. The R is earned, so not for kids.

What is The Bone Collector about?

Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.

Cast and crew

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The Bone Collector is on our Thriller on Prime Video, Mystery on Prime Video, Crime on Prime Video, Starz and Thriller on Starz lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “a horror movie that's actually scary”

Lists with the same feel: Stressful.