The Bye Bye Man

If you like horror flicks in general & do not have huge aspirations of seeing a Silence of the Lambs or Halloween or even The Ring or Strangers, you will probably enjoy The Bye Bye Man. It's worth watching though not very memorable as nothing really makes it stand out from the run of the mill horror flicks.

The story: 3 college kids move into an off campus house & quickly discover a night stand with a cryptic verse written over & over, "Don't think it, don't say it". Yes, of course, we all know right away what it is they can't think or say, it's "The Bye Bye Man". Say that & you're history! Sounds like The Candy Man, right?? Or kinda like The Ring (if you watch it you will die). Not only will you die if you say it but anyone who heard you say it is also a dead man or lady. Nothing new here. I must say the acting cold have been better but overall, I still liked it. Then again, I like most horror flicks more than most do so take my opinion for what it is.

Like some other reviewers said, I could not understand how the IMDb score at this time is 4.3. but there were so many 1 star ratings in the written reviews. This horror movie deserves 5 stars, which makes it worth watching if you are a horror fan. IMDb users note, horror movies rarely get above 6 stars, its just how people vote in this entire genre. A 7 in a real horror movie, is like "gone with the wind" or "citizen kane" level classic (lol). Anyways, back to the review.

This movie has a good premise, good rules for the supernatural critter to follow, real unease and dread, even among the "authority" support characters, and a few good scares. The CGI budget is low, and it DOESN'T MATTER, as it might in some other movie.

And I don't just mean it is good for an indie, it is just plain good (if you are a horror fan).

I didn't mind this movie. Yes there are more original and more scary ones in this genre but it definitely had its moments. Overall eerie with a few unpredictable scenes, enough to keep me interested. I would have loved to learn more about the actual urban legend and story itself but hey, i found it entertaining for sure.

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.