Boogeyman - L'uomo nero

"THE BOOGYMAN" was entertaining, at the least. For me, it was more then that, but, for it's target crown, a disappointment.

The plot DID go somewhere, contrary to popular belief. The matter is it just went places we would have preferred it not to go. I liked it, but sounds like many others had some trouble. And yes, there are some gaping plot holes you could drive a truck through, but if you ignore these, you can enjoy it.

The acting of SOME characters was head on, while other needed to be cut entirely (i.e. the uncle, mysterious man entering hotel, possibly the unfinished "mother" portion) For a while there in the middle, the plot takes on a bit of a physiological thriller feeling, and starts to drop horror and suspense...i personally liked how it was changing, but most were disappointed.

The overall tone was suspenseful, (using a nice camera filter and nicely placed music) and some good jumps, but over all, this was advertised as horror, and it was not. THAT was this films biggest downfall (kinda like The Village)The camera work itself could have been improved, it kind of had that home made feel to it, and the CGI was far from scary.THings i DID like include the overall moral and point of the plot, Barry Watsons internal conflict with his paranoia, and, you have to be with me on this one...

They Did NOT leave it open for a Sequel!

A young boy witnesses her father(Charles Mesure) is taken by a strange spirit, the Boogeyman. Years later, one time grown-up, Tim(Barry Watson) while is visiting the family his fiancée(Musset), he receives a call by his uncle, telling him his mother(Lucy Lawless)has just deceased. Tim trips to his hometown, there he encounter his former childhood friend(Emily Deschenel). In the location inexplicable disappearance occur. Caught in a series of otherworldly events , he becomes inextricably involved and seek to find out their own nightmares at whatever cost. Then he decides stay the night into creepy home and confronting the monstrous Boogeyman.

This eerie film displays bone-chilling scenes, suspense, tension and several images have you on the edge of your seat. It's terrifying entertaining with slick edition and mesmerizing use of shock scenes. The plot stretches plausibility to the break point for a twisted final with similar premise to Forbidden planet. The film is well played by known television actors, Barry Watson(7th heaven), Emily Deschenel(Bones) and the parents, Charles Mesure(Crossing Jordan) and Lucy Lawless, both actors in Xena,warrior princess. Eerie musical score by Joseph LoDuca and adequate cinematography by Bukowski. The motion picture is rightly directed by Stephen T. Kay, he's a nice secondary actor(Angel eyes,Mod squad) and TV director(Saved,Friday night light,Shield) and occasionally cinema director. The movie will like to terror genre enthusiastic.

Boogeyman really isn't all that bad. It's an OK horror movie which provides a few scares and thrills. The problem is it should have been so much better. After all the premise-what is it that little children are scared of at night which could come out of the cupboard-is a good one,not totally original,but not too familiar either.

After a genuinely scary opening,we have our usual setting up of plot and build up for a while,than the scares start again. There is one truly effective 'jump'involving one,than a whole room full of,ghost children.There has been a lot of criticism of the way films like this and The Grudge use lots of sudden shocks and images but it works for me! However,after this great scene,the film just had nowhere to go. The hero must confront his fear,and that's it. The filmmakers attempt to atone for this by having it's characters constantly passing from one place to another in a kind of teleportation but it becomes overused and laughable. The weak climax is not scary and considerably weakened by MTV-style directing so you can't see whats always going on {a bugbear of much recent cinema}. Still,at least the monster is only shown briefly,making it more effective.

You could do probably do worse than see Boogeyman,it holds the attention for the first half at least and it's a good one for teenagers who want to be scared a bit but not actually disturbed. However,after it's over you may just want to cry "is that it?". It's very annoying when a film starts off good and promises a lot but fails to deliver.

I saw this movie on a Friday it was a first date with this guy I like. In some ways this movie helped me. I spent the whole time laughing and getting to know my date. If it had been interesting we might of paid attention. This movie made me feel dumb from watching it. I have never been so happy for a movie to end. The acting was good the script was DUMB. Barry Watson walks into closets and ends up in different places and this seemed to confuse everyone in the theater. After that people started leaving....I didn't because my date spent $7 on my ticket. This movie has no purpose characters are tossed in and discarded randomly. If you REALLY must see this movie make sure you see it for free.....This movie wasn't even scary no one really jumped in surprise but many did laugh in spite. Please heed my warning....there's no point in explain the plot..there was barely a plot this movie made my head hurt!!

The one genuinely scary moment in director Stephen Kay's laughable excuse for a horror film occurs during the end credits, when the audience discovers that it actually took three professional screenwriters to pen this abominable nightmare. The last few years have been a golden age for modestly budgeted fright flicks. Last fall's The Grudge proved that if you market a film well and release it at just the right time, there's no end to the money you can make. I walked away from that film rather disappointed, but my confusion paled in comparison to the slack-jawed bewilderment that consumed me during Boogeyman.

The film's opening sequence features a man being ravaged by an unseen monster while his son observes helplessly. Fifteen years later we discover that Tim (Barry Watson) has never properly dealt with his father's sudden, grisly death. After learning that his mother has passed away, Tim returns home for her funeral. While in town he decides to face his fears by staying overnight in his unusually creepy boyhood home.

A series of muddled, incomplete ideas figure their way into the plot, but ultimately the story is nonsensical and just plain stupid. As with most recent horror films, Boogeyman provides no real terror, and instead attempts to startle the viewer by adding abrupt, loud noises to the soundtrack. The final straw is the title character itself, revealed briefly during the film's climax to be nothing more than a ridiculous, computer-animated mess. Avoid this moronic snoozefest like the plague.

Rating: D-