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 t
times visually impressive, if overly familiar,
Anthony Ferrante's "Boo!" had potential
to be a really good horror movie. Alas, one too
many derivative moments, not to mention stale,
genre-confirming characterization dooms it to
mediocrity. Nevertheless, a film like
"Boo!" (exclamation point optional,
apparently) gives you hope that Mr. Ferrante can
improve upon story, while maintaining the current
level of visual ability. If nothing else, his
debut film is oftentimes fantastic to look at,
with impressive atmosphere and more than a few
effective scare moments before it all turns into a
series of gags about halfway through.
The film opens the way most
horror movies made on a budget does, with teens
visiting an old, dilapidated building (in this
case, a hospital) that has reputations of being
haunted. Predictably, it's also Halloween, and our
young lovers (two couples, one more coupling than
the other, though loyalties eventually change due
to lust) have need for fright this night. Except
perhaps for young Jessie (Trish Coren), who proves
to be psychic, a gift that has resulted in
strange, voiceless annual phone calls from her
deceased mother. To no one's surprise the hospital
proves to host undead spirits, in particular the
hospital's old patients and a ghostly little girl,
setting the stage for supernatural terror. And
evil clowns. Don't forget about the evil clowns.
There is a great scene in
"Boo!" when, upon meeting up in a
hallway, the kids are greeted by a clown costume
hanging on the wall. When one half of the group
notices that the clown, which should not be
moving, is turning its head to look at their
friend, whose back is to the clown, they
immediately take off for the door without a single
word of warning. It's a hilarious moment, but
unfortunately it also ushers in the film's sillier
second half. Of particular note is a 10-minute
sequence in the lobby that has the characters
engage in one of those paranoid moments ala a
series of Mexican standoffs. The problem, of
course, is that the actors are simply not up to
the task; although to be fair to the young lads
and ladies, the dialogue and motivations assigned
their characters by Ferrante is simply atrocious.
That's the problem with much
of "Boo!". It has potential, but most of
that is done away with by the halfway mark.
Atmospheric dread gives way to exploding bodies,
creepy sudden glimpses of apparitions in the
background becomes possessed teens armed with wry
one-liners. The worst offender is the script,
which can't decide if it's working under the rules
of camp (the reactions of the characters are
wholly unbelievable) or playing it straight. It's
also no surprise that our Fair Hair Lead is
traumatized by the past and not up to the spirit
of the occasion; also not a shock is that our lead
has a Slutty Best Friend who proves to be, well,
slutty at the first given opportunity. Alas, for
the male in the audience, while the lovely Ms.
Nicole Rayburn does tease, she doesn't deliver.
Sorry, boys.
On the other hand, the gore
is plentiful, with the aforementioned exploding
bodies, barrels of oozing fake blood, and
appendages with the nasty habit of falling off or
turning into bloody mush. Canine can also find
themselves possessed, and although it makes not a
lick of sense, it's nevertheless quite enjoyable
to watch, even if you know in your heart of hearts
that Ferrante is simply mimicking Carpenter's
"The
Thing". Most of "Boo!" is like
that -- little bits and pieces of scenes taken
from other, better (and sometimes worst) movies
within the genre. Brad Anderson's creepy as hell
"Session
9" also gets a nod, as does every horror
movie about stupid teens who decide to spend a
night in a haunted locale for kicks.
The film's overall
familiarity seems a given considering
writer/director Anthony Ferrante's background in
horror, having contributed to horror magazine
Fangoria as well as working on the set of horror
movies in various capacities. Making his film
debut with "Boo!", Ferrante has elected
to make a movie based on what he's seen over the
years, and it certainly shows. While he's not done
anything so offensive as to deserve a severe
whipping, there's still that nagging feel that
he's dangerously close to abandoning homage
territory in favor of rip-off land.
Still, when it works,
"Boo!" works well enough to warrant a
recommendation. When it's bad, the film is
unintentionally humorous. There's also the
character of a former Blaxploitation actor turned
small town cop thrown into the mix, although why
is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps Ferrante just has
an affinity for "Shaft" and company, and
wanted to prove his devotion to the dead genre.
Either way, the character really serves no
purpose, which doesn't necessarily mean he's not
appreciated, as he definitely brings some color
(pardon the pun) to the proceedings.
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