Twelve
Arthur Muhammad’s film shows how some hauntings are meant to scare some sense into folks.
by Tracie Reddick
I always thought the biblical parable surrounding Ezekiel’s Valley of the Bones had all the trappings for a great zombie film.
So, when I recently came across Twelve (2024), a paranormal flick seeped in the scripture, I had to watch it.
After all, ghosts are undead entities, too, and these ghouls were conjured up by a voodoo spell, placing it in the same realm.
Directed by Arthur Muhammad, Twelve is currently streaming on Tubi and revolves around Pops (Ted Lange, Love Boat), an elderly man who dies of a heart attack shortly after his children — Evelyn (Tiffany Black, P-Valley) and Ezekiel (Norm Nixon, Jr., Grey’s Anatomy) ditch plans to visit him on his birthday.
Ain’t gonna lie, the film starts out sorta slow, but after the mundane build-up to Pop’s funeral, the pace does pick up, presenting a more engaging plot.
Family members gather at Pop’s home, recalling memories while playing his favorite game: Dominoes.
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Thing is, these aren’t ordinary pieces, but a set imported from Haiti that were carved from animal bones.
As in the parable, those bones begin to rattle and lies fall like dominoes as folks are forced to reveal their hidden skeletons.
Flickering lights, shattering mirrors, page-flipping Bibles are among the strange things that occur when these buried secrets are uncovered.
An encounter with water usually follow the encounters, serving as a cleansing metaphor designed to heal the once close-knit, dysfunctional family.
Jammed doors prevent anyone from leaving and is a reference to the house’s unstable foundation, as well as the shaky family dynamics.
Trapped from dusk to dawn, Pop’s kinfolks confront their sins over a 12-hour period, fulfilling a wish for his family to rejoin.
Hence the film’s title, which uses the number 12 to draw attention to its divine meaning, which is typically ignored when it appears in our daily lives.
Unlike most hood horror films, Twelve is one that is worth watching, delivering a solid plot and a stellar cast that includes: Lance E. Nichols, Odessa Feaster, Brooke Chamberlain, LaTasha Wright and Stacey Sheffield.
But mainly, Muhammad weaved a cultural tale about the importance of maintaining the ties that bind family, faith and lasting friendships.
Best way to describe it is as a cross between Death at a Funeral (2007) and To Sleep With Anger (1990).
