Film

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Name: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Mystery
Released: 2013
Cast: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West

A fantasy adventure that drops an ordinary New York teenager into a hidden world of half-angel demon-hunters. City of Bones moves fast, stacks plot twists on its shoulders, and commits fully to its mythology. Best for viewers who love sprawling supernatural worlds, high-school-coded ensemble dynamics, and don't mind a touch of melodrama when the stakes feel genuinely personal.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a teen urban fantasy with a hidden-world map, romance-tinged rivalries and a mystery doled out by a creature-filled city, and you don't mind it borrowing its shine from a familiar young-adult template.

Skip it if you crave slow-burn character drama, since this is a brisk, effects-forward adventure that keeps stacking lore and sidekicks before anyone gets to breathe.

What it asks of you: Expect a two-hour-plus sitting, roughly 130 minutes, with plenty of fights and exposition to track; you'll need to keep up with names and rules rather than sit back.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments2016

This is the Mortal Instruments universe as television, with more time to breathe and develop its characters. If you wanted more of Clary's world, this is the official extension, unconstrained by film length.

But It's a TV show made from a rejected film, which sometimes shows. The early seasons feel scrappier than the movie's confident sheen.

Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments poster

The 5th Wave2016

YA action film with a similar rhythm: mysterious invaders, a girl learning her abilities matter more than she thought, supporting cast you actually care about. Chloe Grace Moretz doing what Lily Collins does—grounding the fantastic.

But It's earthbound sci-fi rather than fantasy, so the supernatural wonder reads differently. Also a bit heavier in tone.

The Golden Compass2007

Another ornate fantasy world with a young heroine, a supernatural ensemble, and the feeling that you're glimpsing something much larger. Beautifully designed, deeply committed to its own logic.

But It's slower and more contemplative. If you want propulsive teenage energy, this reaches for wonder instead of adrenaline.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

Bones' DNA runs directly through Buffy's blueprint: the sarcastic heroine, the loyal ensemble, the supernatural world hiding beneath the mundane, the balance of high-school trivia and apocalyptic urgency.

The template Bones learned from: ordinary girl discovers supernatural calling, gathers a found family, balances high school and actual apocalypse. Seven seasons of character depth, humor, and genuine stakes that the film only hints at.

But It's 1997 TV. The early episodes look it, and the pacing assumes you'll wait a week between installments. Committing to all seven seasons is a different project than a two-hour film.

Vampire Academy2014

Parallel-universe YA with a hidden supernatural school, vampire politics, found family, and a heroine learning she's tougher than she looks. Same tonal confidence—supernatural without apology.

But It's campier, leaning into humor over gravitas. Some find that liberating; others want more weight.

The Hunger Games2012

Another girl thrust into a larger conflict she didn't choose, supported by an ensemble that matters. Both have that 'ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances' DNA and treat their source material with real affection.

But It's political thriller rather than fantasy adventure. The world is grittier, less magical, which changes everything about the watch.

Divergent2014

YA dystopian with faction-based intrigue, a girl discovering her hidden nature, and an ensemble dynamic. Similar scaffolding, similar confidence in its mythology.

But It's duller. The world feels less lived-in, and the characters lack the spark Bones' cast brings.

The Host2013

Another Stephenie Meyer adaptation featuring a hidden world, an impossible love, and a girl at the center of larger forces. Same source material sensibility.

But It's slower, weirder, more introspective. Less ensemble, less action, more internal conflict. Your mileage varies.

Only Lovers Left Alive2013

Both are worlds where supernatural creatures hide beneath cities. But where Bones is a coming-of-age thriller, Jarmusch explores the exhaustion of eternity—same hidden realm, completely different register and timeframe.

A vampire film that's meditative, gorgeous, and more interested in how immortals endure centuries than in action. Jim Jarmusch's assured, unhurried vision of the supernatural underground—lush and strange.

But It's the opposite of propulsive. If you watch Bones for momentum and plot, this will feel glacial. It's sensory and melancholic, not teenage-energetic.

The Shape of Water2017

Both features a heroine who discovers that ordinary rules don't apply to her, and that the supernatural realm is not separate from the human one but woven through it. But del Toro's vision is intimate and tragic where Bones is expansive and energetic.

Guillermo del Toro's fantasy about a mute woman and a creature during the Cold War. Lush production design, committed romance, a heroine discovering her own power. Fantasy that feels tactile and real, scored with genuine emotion.

But It's a fairy tale for adults, not a teenager's action adventure. It's slow, sensual, melancholic. No ensemble, no Shadowhunters—just one woman and the creature she loves, and the world trying to separate them.