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Boogeyman 2005 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Stephen Kay
PG-13, 86 min. (intense horror and terror/violence, partial nudity) |
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Starring: Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Lucy Lawless, Tory Mussett, Robyn Malcolm, Charles Mesure, Louise Wallace, Michael Saccente
Producers: Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert
Screenplay: Eric Kripke, Juliet Snowden, Stiles White
Cinematography: Bobby Bukowski
Distributor: Screen Gems
Released: 2.04.05 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Boogeyman is the latest in a long line of tired, clichéd horror flicks that are short on originality and long on frustration. It seems every childhood nightmare
or fantasy has been explored in some fashion in this growing genre, but the "boogeyman" that hides in the closet seems to be a new one. I'm sure there are plenty of horror
films based upon the premise of a menacing figure ready to pounce on those terrified of the dark, but the specificity of this creature targets the children's campfire story
crowd. Directed by Stephen Kay based on a script by Eric Kripke, Juliet Snowden, and Stiles White, Boogeyman meticulously sets up the story of a child whose father
is snatched by the boogeyman and grows up to figure out the mystery. There are elements of fascination here, yet Kay is restrained by the obligatory need for loud noises,
flashes of violence, etc. that permeate every other well-worn horror story. Unfortunately, by the time the film has crashed and burned in a morass of stupidity, the
limited amount of goodwill that had been built has been dashed into oblivion.
Tim (Barry Watson of 7th Heaven) returns home to bury his mother (Lucy Lawless) when his haunted past comes back to claim him. Told by psychiatrists for years that the boogeyman
was a creation of his psyche to deal with the sudden disappearance of his father (who supposedly left the family without a word), now finds that his memories of a horrible
creature that emerged to capture his father is very real. A childhood friend, Kate (Emily Deschanel), is on hand to help him sift through the past, while a strange young
girl, Franny (Skye McCole Bartusiak), curiously has the same visions of the creature. When Tim's girlfriend, Jessica (Tory Mussett), is apparently snatched from a motel
bathtub, he finally decides to confront the boogeyman once and for all.
The film flirts with the idea of self-imposed hysteria and terror to cover a bad memory; indeed, Tim's sudden entrance and exits from various closets in the old house and
a nearby motel could construe mental fragility and/or a psychological condition, but the film seems to play it straight insomuch as the final confrontation with the creature
takes place alongside Kate. The film is curiously slow, plodding through various expository scenes that hurt the momentum and tension of the final sequences, which
are so badly edited that it's difficult to decipher what's happening. Kay enjoys loud noises for no apparent reason, employing the technique to an irritating degree, while
darkly lit rooms and closets are the film's favorite mainstay. And though there is an eerie quality to the proceedings, Kay never quite capitalizes on the origins of the
boogeyman and why exactly it targets Tim in particular. Boogeyman, much like its horror siblings, seems to play it safe rather than explore the possibilities of such a
twisted children's nightmare. The result is more of the same - been there, done that.
© 2005 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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