Boogeyman - L'uomo nero

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-

Boogeyman is pretty much your standard horror movie which tries too hard to be different, but in reality, is about the same as every mediocre new horror movie that comes out nowadays.

Barry Watson stars as Tim Jensen, who since he was a young child, has been afraid of the Boogeyman that not only lives in his closet, but seems to be able to beam himself to any closet in the world and he uses that power to take those who Tim loves. We are treated to a decent scene at the beginning, where Tim is a child and witnesses his father being taken by the evil Boogeyman. The entire movie is basically Tim running from the dark, similar to Darkness Falls in a way.

Boogeyman does do some things right, however. For instance, it makes you wait until nearly the end to see the Boogeyman face to face, but this is very anti-climatic. You never get a clear look and when you do, it looks like a human painted black. Not much to it there. The feel of the movie was great, with the eery sound effects of the wind whistling and the house always creaking. In surround sound, this has quite a creepy effect, but when it is non-stop and in every location, it becomes tiresome. Other than a few scenes that are designed to make you jump, there is not much else to this movie. The ending leaves you less than satisfied and not even sure what just happened. I give 4.5 of 10 stars.

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.

Something I've noticed lately is that horror movies make for great previews. When I saw the trailer for BOOGEYMAN I was thinking, "This film is gonna rock!" WRONG! This is another terrible Hollywood scare flick that couldn't scare a 12 year old. I jumped more at the preview than the movie. The worst part is the story is so heavy handed that it steals any fun out of this convoluted mess. Let's remember what were making here, guys, it ain't no Oscar contender. Too bad the movie wasn't just a shade worse so it could enter that so-bad-it's good realm. This one is just bad.

There are a lot of great horror movies out there these days so skip this one!

"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!