Blood is not just thicker than water in "Bones." It's thicker than pudding.

For some odd reason, the creators of "Bones" use extremely fake-looking blood and, since it's spattered all over the place, you can't help noticing that it looks less like blood and more like something that would be delicious with pasta and some nice garlic bread. But, if the blood is low-rent, the rest of the movie is classier, handsomer and smarter than you'd expect.

The action shifts back and forth between 1979, when a botched drug deal resulted in the death of Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg), and the present, when some kids fix up Bones' lair, a dark old pile with leaky plumbing and undead in the attic. Bones is haunting the place, but the intelligent screenplay makes him more interesting than the usual, run-of-the-horror-movie villain. This guy is pure evil, sure, but he has some pretty compelling reasons to be purely evil.

They have to do with that drug deal, and throughout the movie -- which is atmospheric and creepy, if not exactly scary -- there are hints that the past is not through with these people. Many of the actors are required to play their characters in 1979 and today, and, for once, the aging thing is pulled off believably, with the performers (including Pam Grier, trying on her Foxy Brown wig again for the period scenes) conveying a strong sense of lives that were happy and are now scarred.

Director Ernest Dickerson has a few nifty effects at his disposal but, mostly, he uses elegant visuals, suspenseful editing and lighting to give "Bones" its edge (one of the neatest-looking tricks occurs when a guy slices into a pool table that bleeds). And the shocks are balanced with respect for people and the problems they face, including racism and drugs. The movie, in fact, hinges on the moment when crack was introduced to the 'hood, becoming a force -- like Jimmy Bones -- that refuses to go away.