The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray witnesses a murder at a New York nightclub, she thinks she's seen a gang of thugs. But the victims vanish into thin air, and the killers are something else entirely: demons. That night, Clary's world cracks open. Her mother is kidnapped, her best friend is turning into a monster, and a golden-eyed stranger named Jace Wayland tells her she's a Shadowhunter, a half-angel warrior whose job is to protect the mundane world from the things that go bump in the night. Directed by Harald Zwart, this 2013 adaptation of Cassandra Clare's bestselling novel throws Clary into a hidden New York where vampires run clubs, werewolves patrol the streets, and a fanatic named Valentine Morgenstern is hunting for a weapon that could end the world.

The film had a $60 million budget and grossed roughly $95 million worldwide, a middling result for a would-be franchise. Critics were split, but audiences found a guilty pleasure in the earnest performances and the sheer ambition of the world-building. Lily Collins brings a relatable stubbornness to Clary, while Jamie Campbell Bower's Jace is all brooding charm. The supporting cast includes Lena Headey as Clary's enigmatic mother, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the villainous Valentine, and Godfrey Gao as the warlock Magnus Bane. Filmed in Toronto and New York, the movie wears its urban fantasy influences on its sleeve, mixing the teen angst of Twilight with the magical academy vibes of Harry Potter.

Though the movie never got the sequels it planned, it developed a cult following and helped keep the Shadowhunter universe alive until the TV series Shadowhunters picked up the torch in 2016. For fans of the books, it's a curious artifact, a big-screen version that gets some things right and others gloriously wrong. For newcomers, it's a fast-paced, visually striking romp through a world where angels and demons are real, and a plucky teenager with a paintbrush might just be the key to saving it all. [edit]

Clary Fray is an ordinary teenager in New York City, spending her days sketching in a notebook and hanging out with her best friend Simon Lewis. But her ordinary life shatters at a nightclub called Pandemonium when she sees three tattooed figures murder a young woman. The victim dissolves into dust, and the killers vanish, leaving Clary shaken and confused. Worse, no one else seems to have seen anything. The only clue is a strange symbol one of the attackers drew in the air, a glowing mark that Clary instinctively copies onto a wall, causing one of the killers to recoil in pain.

Clary's mother, Jocelyn, has always been secretive, but now she's terrified. She tells Clary to stay safe and then disappears, leaving behind a trail of blood and a cryptic warning. That's when Jace Wayland finds Clary. He's a Shadowhunter, a warrior descended from angels, and he explains that the world is full of demons, vampires, werewolves, and other Downworlders. Clary, it turns out, has the Sight, the ability to see the supernatural world that hides in plain sight. She's also a Shadowhunter, though she never knew it. Jace takes her to the Institute, a hidden cathedral-like sanctuary where Shadowhunters train and live. There, she meets Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, siblings who are Jace's closest allies, and Hodge Starkweather, their wise but weary tutor. They tell her that her mother was one of them, and that she's been taken by Valentine Morgenstern, a rogue Shadowhunter who believes he can purify the world by destroying all Downworlders.

Clary is desperate to find her mother, but she's also a novice in a world of warriors. Jace is assigned to train her, and their chemistry is immediate, a volatile mix of bickering and undeniable attraction. Simon, meanwhile, is pulled into the fray, his loyalty to Clary putting him in danger. He's attacked by vampires and survives, but the experience changes him, leaving him with a thirst for blood. As Clary learns to fight with a seraph blade and draw runes that give her superhuman abilities, the search for her mother leads them to Magnus Bane, a powerful warlock who knows Valentine's plans. Valentine is after the Mortal Instruments, three ancient artifacts that can control all the Downworlders. With the Soul-Sword, one of the instruments, he plans to open a portal to the demon world and unleash a war that will wipe out all non-Shadowhunters.

The trail takes them from the glittering clubs of Manhattan to the dark tunnels of the subway, where they face off against vampires and demons. Clary discovers that her mother had been hiding a powerful secret, a cup that's one of the Mortal Instruments. Valentine wants it, and he'll do anything to get it. Clary and her friends race against time, but every step brings them closer to a shocking truth about Clary's own family. Jace is haunted by his past, and his connection to Valentine is deeper than anyone suspects. As the final confrontation looms, Clary must decide who she trusts, and what she's willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves.[edit]