Boogeyman
BY Ryan LaMarca / 2008-02-10
Another lackluster PG-13 horror movie that hit theaters in 2005, Boogeyman is awful. Here are a couple of words to describe it: boring, annoying, confusing, timid, not scary. Produced by Screen Gems (Sony Pictures), Boogeyman was produced by Sam Raimi of Spider-Man fame and sets the tone that would influence other disappointing horror movies like The Messengers. With a budget of $20 million, the film performed modestly in the box office, earning a grand total of $67 million worldwide. Directed by Stephen T. Kay, Boogeyman stars Barry Watson (7th Heaven, What About Brian), Emily Deschanel (Bones), Skye McCole Bartusiak, and Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess). Can you guess what the movie's about? The boogeyman. Clever, right?
The only part of the movie that I found even remotely scary was the very beginning. A young boy is trying to get to sleep in his room when all sorts of strange things start happening, including a robe coming to life which starts walking over to the bed. When the boy turns on the lights, the robe collapses and he stuffs it into a drawer. Finally, the closet door starts to creep open and the boy hides under the covers. However, it is only his dad who is checking in on him. When the boy explains his fears, his dad goes to check the closet but is sucked inside and killed by the boogeyman.
Now, jump fifteen years later. The young boy, Tim (Watson) has grown up and deals with his fear of the boogeyman by eliminating all types of closets and closed spaces in his house, in order to keep himself safe. However, his new girlfriend, Jessica (Tory Mussett), has invited him to her home for Thanksgiving to meet her parents and Tim reluctantly agrees. During the night, Tim is plagued by a strange night terror in which his mother (Lawless) is dead and attacks him. Immediately, he calls his uncle, who informs him that his mother has died. Tim now returns to his hometown and the mental hospital he stayed at after his father died. The counselor there tells him that to overcome his fears he should stay in his old house for the night.
After his mother's funeral, Tim meets up with a childhood friend, Kate (Deschanel), who befriends him again. Outside his home, he also meets a young girl named Franny (Bartusiak) who asks him is the boogeyman killed his father. Franny's questions reinvigorate Tim into trying to combat the boogeyman. Franny also reveals that the boogeyman took her dad when he tried to save her. However, Tim can feel that the boogeyman is still in the house and wants to terrorize and kill him. Soon after, Tim's friends and family are all attacked and killed by the boogeyman. Tim realizes he must confront the boogeyman to stop it and faces his fears when he is attacked, destroying all the objects of fear from both the room and his mind. Finally, the boogeyman is defeated and Tim and Kate are safe.
Okay, this movie could have been great, but it's not. It's horrible in execution, in story, in plot, in everything. And it wasn't scary, either. So, if you're trying to make a horror movie, it needs to be scary, right? Boogeyman is what it is: a generic PG-13 horror movie that will eventually be forgotten. It's just plain awful and has no redeeming qualities. Boogeyman is so convoluted and confusing that you can't tell what's happening. Basically, it's one of those Japanese inspired horror movies like The Grudge which is also painful to watch. The film's basic concept of the boogeyman is good, but the way it plays out is not. It has a predictable plot and over-hyped scares. My guess is that this movie was made for teenage girls who scream and squeal at any little flash, and that's exactly what Boogeyman has to offer: a lot of loud noises and flash.
The video comes in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen, so it fills up the entire screen and looks pretty good on a widescreen television. The picture and audio look and sound great. Too bad the movie sucks. The menus are probably scarier than the film with a pounding closet door.
As far as special features, the DVD has way too many for such a horrible film. There's a thirty-five minute two-part documentary called "The Making of Boogeyman" which is a basic making of featurette with the directors, producers, and actors, all except Sam Raimi who seems to distance himself from all his non Spider-Man or Evil Dead work. The feature tends to drag on in the second part and gets really boring. The creative teams tries to make the film sound better than what it is and try to defend it in every way possible. There's also a recap of the movie in there, in case you fell asleep or turned it off. However, it's easily worth skipping. Sony also included six worthless, boring deleted scenes which last for twelve and a half minutes. They add nothing whatsoever to the film and just drag on. The alternate ending which is presented is no better than the one in the film and is pretty much the same thing except more people die. And there's some animatics, visual effects progression, and Sony trailers present as well. As with the movie, the special features are equally as dull. Thank goodness there wasn't a commentary track.
My advice on the Boogeyman: Special Edition DVD is to skip it. Don't waste your money on this steaming pile of crap. Unless you're really into Japanese-inspired horror films like The Grudge, then don't go near this. It's really horrible. And don't think about going to see the sequel, creatively titled Boogeyman 2, which features an all-new director and cast when it comes out in 2008.
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