The Bye Bye Man

'THE BYE BYE MAN': Three Stars (Out of Five)

A horror flick about a supernatural entity that can possess anyone that learns it's name, which terrorizes three college students. It was directed by Stacy Title, and written by Jonathan Penner (of TV's 'SURVIVOR' fame). The script is based on a chapter of the 2005 book 'The President's Vampire', titled 'The Bridge to Body Island' (by Robert Damon Schneck). The film stars Douglas Smith, Cressida Bonas, Lucien Laviscount, Jenna Kanell, Michael Trucco, Carrie-Ann Moss, Leigh Whannell, Erica Tremblay, Cleo King, Faye Dunaway and Doug Jones (as The Bye Bye Man). It's received mostly negative reviews from critics, and fans alike, but it's done really well at the Box Office (so far). I thought it was OK.

Three college students (Smith, Bonas and Laviscount) move into an old house, near campus. Once there, they learn about a supernatural entity called The Bye Bye Man (Jones). They also discover that the Bye Bye Man can possess anyone who says or thinks it's name (and make them do horrible things). In order to try and stop the creature, they investigate it's origins. While doing so, they desperately try to stop others from learning about it. They also frantically try not to kill each other, in the process either.

The movie is a great concept for a horror flick, and The Bye Bye Man is definitely a frighteningly memorable slasher film villain. I'd like to see a sequel, or maybe more, and hopefully the potential franchise keeps getting better. Penner's script isn't bad though (he also plays a small part in the film), and Title's direction is decent as well. I also can't believe the producers got such an awesome cast for this (Whannell, Moss, Dunaway, Jones!). I'd still recommend seeing it, if you're a fan of horror movies.

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I found this movie a chore to watch. It was just so boring and drawn out.

Nothing really made sense, even beyond the lore of the monster. Like why did they take a 4 year old to a college house party. Why does the man character constantly say the name that he shouldn't be saying. It felt slapdash.

The acting is pretty awful and one of the actors is clearly English doing a horrible American accent. It makes the film slightly entertaining as it enters into like disaster territory but I was just so bored that I struggled to actually focus enough to pick up on things.

Also this movie is not scary in the slightest. It has terrible CGI and it's just bad.

Don't waste your time with it.

First thing you need to know is the acting is bad. At times it's alright, at times it's awful, and at times I cringed. The plot of the movie is not bad, no one really has addressed this but this is easily the only thing that kept my interested throughout. Not a new idea by any means, but the psychological aspect of the movie kept me entertained. The directing was good. Some shots were pretty cool and some jump scares were actually clever. Depending on how you look at it, one of the jump scares was either a rip off or was inspired by a James Wan jump scare. The movie had the potential to be good and they just dropped the ball. Some people have mentioned how the shot gun deaths were one of the reasons it was a "bad" movie. These people are over dramatic. That scene, while head scratching is not going to ruin the movie. Though, it's what they had to do it seems to keep a PG-13 rating based off rumors I'm seeing/reading. If you are a fan horror, go into this movie with low expectations. If you are not a fan of horror, don't watch this movie.

Truly a PG-13 flick. Not exactly scary if you're over the age of 13 but I can see people not into horror finding it a decent watch. With that in mind I won't exactly be harsh on the movie it had it's good and bad ideas. I think what it suffered from the most is that the Bye Bye Man wasn't exactly scary because you never knew what he'd do once he got you and it's never really explained. He's just like a guy with a dog that rides a train and leaves coins or something. I dunno he's just not a scary enough character.

The Bye Bye Man is an evil reaper who haunts those who say his name, plaguing them with visions, feeding off their fear, getting closer and closer until they can bear it no more. So, part Freddy Krueger, part Bloody Mary, part The Babadook, and part Candyman, with that entity from It Follows thrown into the mix for good measure. Clearly, there's very little originality on offer here. This probably wouldn't be such a big issue if director Stacy Title had managed to conjure up lots of effective scares or deliver some gross out gore, but her film is light on fright and strictly PG-13 when it comes to content.

The plot is also very sketchy in terms of exposition: who is the Bye Bye man? Where does he come from? What is his purpose? Why does he hang around with a poorly rendered CGI dog? Is he a metaphor for mental illness or the product of mass hysteria? (or is that expecting too much from a popcorn horror aimed at a teen audience?). Just a few of the questions that the film fails to answer. Perhaps these issues will be dealt with in a sequel, but I won't be in a hurry to find out. I'm happy to say 'bye bye' to The Bye Bye man. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.