Boogeyman (2005)

Movie Info

Yep…never leave the door open

As a child, Tim Jensen (Barry Watson) saw something that has haunted him his entire life.  The monster he believed lived in his closet took his father (Charles Mesure) and killed him.  Mark is haunted by his past and when his mother dies, he decides to confront his old fear by returning to his childhood home.  When Tim discovers that the Boogeyman is still alive and taking children, Tim teams with his childhood friend Kate Houghton (Emily Deschanel) to stop the Boogeyman once and for all in the hopes of freeing himself and the children of the world.

Directed by Stephen T. Kay, Boogeyman is a horror film based on the idea of the monster-in-the-closet.  The movie was released to poor reviews, but the relatively low-budget film did rake in a strong profit.

Everyone knows if you are under the covers you are safe…sheets cannot be breached by the Boogeyman

Everyone has a monster when they are growing up, and for some reason, many have a monster in the closet.  It is the dark hole in the room that when the lights go off could house anything…something that is terrifying if you are a child.  A film about this horror should be scary.  Unfortunately, Boogeyman is not.

The movie just drags.  The story has Tim headed home by suggestion of his doctor and trying to forget what he saw.  It of course goes wrong and horror ensues…the horror however isn’t very horrific and the Boogeyman is laughable instead of a great monster.  The story is further confused by the addition of a girlfriend for the Tim character in addition to his childhood friend.  There are a few jumps built in to the idea, but the horror that should lace the script doesn’t exist.

The cast also is below average.  Though Emily Deschanel has gone on to success on Bones, the rest of the cast feels like they fell out of a WB drama…that isn’t a compliment.  It isn’t that they are the worst actors that you’ve ever seen, but it is obvious however that they’ve probably reached their peak.  It works for the story, but no one “wows” you.

Kind of cool creature? We rarely see it and it always looks like a CGI mess

A movie called Boogeyman needs a great Boogeyman…here you don’t get one.  Some of the imagery at the beginning with Tim as a child gives you hope that the story will play off the title and childhood fears, but once the real story starts with Tim as an adult, the movie becomes quite a snoozer.  This movie really needs a developed monster.

Boogeyman is a below average film…there are worse films, but there are also much better horror films.  The movie often can be picked up for cheap, but you are probably better off betting a better film for a couple bucks more.  Despite the ho-hum effort of Boogeyman, Boogeyman was followed by Boogeyman 2 in 2007.