Don't Look Under the Bed

Erin Chambers and Ty Hodges star in this Disney feature film where young teen Chambers is haunted from her past by a childhood memory. Hodges is the boogeyman come to life.

According to Boogey legend an imaginary childhood friend should not be discarded so easily lest they become the feared boogeyman. So it was with Chambers's brother who lost his faith in the existence of imaginary friends during a serious illness. Now the friend has come to life and trying to reverse the curse.

Watching the film put me in mind of my niece when she was small. The elder of two sisters she had imaginary playmates, but she grew out of them after a fashion. Her younger sister never took up that particular fantasy though.

Chambers is way too old for the part she sure didn't look a convincing 14. That's the way it is, always casting people too old for teens in Hollywood. Still in her case she couldn't convince me she was a juvenile try as she may.

Don't Look Under The Bed is a charming fantasy which would have worked better with a real teen lead.

This is the BEST Disney channel movie you will ever see. In fact, this is the only Disney channel movie you should watch. Screw High School Musical. This movie has fantastic graphics, acting, it is just wonderful. Seriously, Disney channel should air this every Friday or Saturday night, because it is just an amazing movie. If you are ever lucky enough to catch this movie on t.v. don NOT just flip past it and go to something you think is better because there is a 94 percent chance it isn't. This movie is the PERFECT Halloween film. It has ever vital ingredient to entertain you for more than the hour and a half it is. Anyway, watch Don't Look Under the Bed, C'est super!

I've detailed in previous posts my feelings about the current state of children's television. And while the Disney Channel is the main culprit, I do long for 1999 again when Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) were at their peak. Sure, they were cheesy and full of head-scratching character decisions, but we loved them anyway because the protagonists were just like us.

Don't Look Under the Bed follows Frances (Erin Chambers), a teenage girl living in a small town where, one day, strange things start happening. Dogs are on the roof, the high school's pool is filled with gelatin, and the letter "B" is spray painted all over town. Everyone is convinced that it's Frances who's pulling these pranks, but she befriends Larry Houdini (Ty Hodges)--an imaginary person who only she can see--who informs her that the Boogeyman is framing her. So she tries to figure out why he seems to have a bone to pick with her.

The film is full of twists and has some fun scenes that actually hold up fairly well considering the age of the movie and the target demographic.

Not that it's not without a little schmaltz, but believe it or not, compared to its counterparts, Don't Look Under the Bed isn't terribly cloying at all--possibly due to the fact that it's directed by Kenneth Johnson--the creator of The Bionic Woman and The Incredible Hulk TV series. Whatever the reason, if you saw this movie as a child, chances are it stuck with you.

It's Disney Channel's only PG-rated DCOM--and for a good reason. The scenes with the Boogeyman are seriously creepy. They still haunt me to this day. However, they never make the film lose its youthful essence. Rather, it may be more appealing since it fails to insult its young audience. There's a good enough balance between the macabre and the jovial to maintain its fun nature.

The issues it deals with may not be the deepest, but it's no Dude, Where's My Car either. The themes include deep-rooted denial and growing up too fast. It gets its point across without feeling overly preachy. And even older audiences will find the intrinsic emotions relatable and may cause them to conjure up fond memories of their own childhood--much in a Toy Story type of way.

In the last 15 minutes, the characters venture into Boogeyland, which is a real highlight to this movie. The world that the filmmakers create is so spooky and detailed that we feel like we're there too. We wait throughout the whole story to find out where the Boogeyman goes when he's not creating chaos, and the answer definitely lives up to our expectations.

The film's biggest pitfall is its lead actress. She's alright when she's just conversing with other characters, but as soon as she shows any kind of grand emotion, her conviction is nowhere to be found.

But the plot holes are scarce and mostly towards the beginning, so we grant it forgiveness during its final act--which may the single greatest ending to any DCOM. In Don't Look Under the Bed the characters have a lot to lose, and while so many others of its kind take the easy way out, this one really works for it.

Twizard Rating: 84

This movie is not especially and intelligent movie with complex situations and in-depth background of the characters. It is more of a movie that deals with family situations and the doings of a teen-age girl. The plot of the story is actually quite silly, being about a boogie man, but there is a few parts in this movie that are all of funny and interesting. The only thing I find very awkward is how Erin Chambers looks to be the high schooler that she is supposed to play, but is really over 6 years older. She was twenty years old when she played the part of "Frances". So that just goes to show how weird Hollywood does things.

I think my favorite character in this would have to be Larry. The "Imaginary friend". He acts so unhuman like sometimes which is perfect for this type of kids show. This can be happily viewed by adults, but it would be much more enjoyed by even a child as young as four. The sets that they used in the movie must have taken them a long time to build at how elaborate they were. So since it was a sort of childish movie with not a lot of in depth proportion to it, I give it an 8.5 out of 10. But it was a pretty good film.

I used to see this movie every year as a child and I would be scared for weeks. I saw it now as an adult and my memory was near perfect of it. Probably one of the best things Disney channel has ever made. Probably the worst thing is the dated visual effects.