Le Croque-mitaine

Fairly enjoyable dark and creepy, jump scare fest.

Its a terrible title - makes it sound like an 80's straight to video affair.

Get past the title and what you have is a fairly enjoyable horror movie.

Theres not much any horror fan won't have seen many times - something goes bump in the night, the person experiencing it is not believed, things escalate... Jump scares.

Its fairly well done. It got a little silly towards the end that took me out of it a bit, but for the most part its enjoyable.

I doubt I'll watch it again or see it as a milestone film, but not every movie is a classic - some are just an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes or so.

Refreshingly it is only 90 ish minutes rather than the current trend for over long posterior numbing.

Full disclosure: I haven't read the story on which "The Boogeyman" is based, so I can only assess it on its own merits. It was okay, as I expected. Like many horror movies of recent years, grief plays a major part of the plot. Of course, most of the horror comes from jump scares.

As for the cast, they do a fine enough job, considering what they have to have work. The title character does turn out to be freaky in some scenes.

All in all, this is a movie that you'll probably enjoy enough. I wouldn't say that there were any scenes that stuck me with solid memory, but you do have to admire the intense scenes.

So, it's nothing great, but if you're willing to spend the day with some friends and watch something scary, this should be fun.

Never in human history has mankind had access to such a wide variety of lighting implements for virtually any lighting need.

You've got LED flashlights packed with thousands of lumens. Battery powered, solar powered, you name it. Even a cheap dollar store flashlight these days is capable of lighting up your entire backyard so you can see who's been stealing your underthings.

Headlamps? We got headlamps. Get one with a rechargeable battery pack and you'll never be without hands free lighting again.

Why not try the Ryobi work light, which will blast 4,200 blinding lumens at that hard to reach manifold, difficult basement job, or closet dwelling creature trying to eat your kids. It's powered by the popular ONE+ battery so you'll never be in the dark again.

Want something more budget friendly? Strap on a puck light or grab a packet of glow sticks at the dollar store (deep down, didn't you know we'd be back at the dollar store again?) and light up your world for mere pocket change.

Of course, if an ancient evil creature is menacing your family and that creature exists only in the dark, you may choose to go without all of these lighting needs and try fighting it with... Oh, I dunno. An bulk supply of tea candles? Your dead mom's almost-out-of-juice zippo lighter? Some 1970s era Christmas lights that depend on an extension cord, even though electrical power seems to be out all over the house?

Now, see here. I actually enjoyed The Boogeyman to some extent, because the scenes were shot well and it was decently acted. But come on. If even one of the bonehead characters in this movie had made just a cursory trip to Harbor Freight (I like to plug aaaall the stores,) they could have completely vanquished that rather feeble creature the very first night. Hell, what I keep in my glove compartment would have sent that Predator-wannabee packing lickety split.

I'm sorry, but when you get right down to it, that boogey creature wasn't all the powerful. In fact, the most dangerous thing it seemed to accomplish was the spreading of mold throughout the house. That's gonna cost the family a pretty penny to eradicate. Too bad they don't have a Tractor Supply, Dollar Tree or Harbor Freight in their neighborhood.

Kind of a cool movie and some scary scenes, but you have to suspend belief a little too much for it to really sink it. I mean, gee whiz, fellas. They make bright lights with little motion sensors on them now, because we live in a time of wonders.

While I give the film props for an interesting and unique creature design, it can't really elevate a movie that just feels mediocre.

The film presents itself as something of a metaphor for grief, but it ultimately feels extremely toned down and toothless. Jump scares aside, the movie does very little to ratchet up its tension, making its handful of tense moments feel a bit like islands in a sea of "get on with it".

The performances are fine, but ultimately the film never lets the characters really get to dig into their own trauma and depression in a way that might give the film some much needed depth. It ends of feeling as if someone wanted to make the Babadook, but in the style of films like House on Haunted Hill or Thirteen Ghosts.

It's a pleasant enough watch, but you'll forget it in a week.

Truly, this movie was screwed over with its title. I know it's an adaptation, but "The Boogeyman" makes it sounds like a bottom-of-the-bargain-bin DVD movie. But while far from original, this is a thoroughly well-crafted, at times thoughtful horror film.

By far, this is one of the most frightening PG-13 movies I've seen. Director Rob Savage has a lot of talent, and he wields the camera with style and with care. Excellent sound design and mixing, as well as a smart subdued musical score, build anticipation for each scare and don't let up the tension once something has been revealed.

The monster is horrifying in its design, but Savage wisely doesn't show it to us very often, and never really shows it to us in detail. Dark, oppressive atmosphere pervades the screen and it leaves a lot of distressing things to the imagination.

While this isn't the first film to hold grief or trauma as a metaphor for its monster, it's done quite well here. The family dynamics in this script are restrained and well-realised, with satisfying thematic payoff at the end.

I have only one major issue with the film, and that's that the characters seem to easily brush off when they see horrifying things. They didn't sell the paranoia at all. And at a couple points Sadie finds potential proof of the monster's existence but never does anything with it. Perhaps there was some material left on the cutting room floor that fills in these gaps, but we may never know.

Still, this is a supernatural scare-fest that's several cuts above average and I would truly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a decent story with their spooks.