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 oogeyman"
is produced by Sam Raimi (the creator of the cult "Evil
Dead" films and most recently the director of the "Spiderman"
movies), as well as being released by Raimi's newly formed 'Ghosthouse' company,
a fact which, like the never-ending tide of films 'presented by' Wes Craven and
others, lends "Boogeyman" a rather undeserved pedigree. This is not to
suggest that "Boogeyman" is necessarily a terrible film, only that
those expecting anything up to Raimi's usual level of inventiveness will be
sorely disappointed. Instead, "Boogeyman" is an almost archetypal
example of modern Hollywood horror, whose script reads like a veritable
checklist of clichés, and whose uninspired visuals scream 'made for
television'.
Despite the above, "Boogeyman" manages, for most
of its running time at least, to provide reasonable, if somewhat cynically
produced entertainment for the less discriminating amongst genre fans or for the
younger viewers it seems to be aimed at. The plot centres upon Tim (Barry Watson
of "7th Heaven" fame), a young man who as a child witnessed his father
being killed by some kind of unseen closet monster, an event which leaves him
understandably traumatised. After his mother's death, an adult Tim is forced to
return home, where he decides to spend a night in the old house in an attempt to
face the demons of his past. However, as more people start to disappear, it
becomes clear that the boogeyman of Tim's memory is still lurking around, hungry
for victims.
"Boogeyman" is directed by Stephen T. Kay, most
of whose work has been for television (he was also responsible for the
excruciatingly awful Stallone remake of "Get Carter"), a fact which
shows all too clearly. The film has the look and feel of an extended episode of
a teen horror show, from the constant use of establishing shots right through to
the cheap CGI special effects. Kay's use of clichés is at times groan inducing,
especially the constant rolls of thunder and his unfortunate decision to include
the stereotypical 'creepy kid' character, which has little to do with the actual
plot. Such tired devices only further convince that this is a film far more at
home on the small screen.
Matters are not helped by the cast, most of who are
instantly recognisable TV actors, or the fact that the weak script seems
reluctant to delve into any of their characters beyond basic details such as
their occupation. Of course, this means that the viewer cares little for any of
them, which would be forgivable in a bodycount type horror, though in a film
with pretensions towards psychological content, it greatly detracts from any
potential scares. Kay seems quite oblivious to this, and happily throws in cheap
frights, most of which involve something dark falling suddenly into frame.
Whilst this is obviously a tried and tested device in the horror genre, to base
an entire film around its usage indicates a staggering lack of ideas.
To be fair, writer Eric Kripke does manage to work in a
fair amount of cheap pop psychology and symbolism, which for the most part works
quite well. The viewer is kept interested, if not through the characters
themselves, then through some vaguely intelligent plotting, mainly based around
guessing the veracity of the central premise. There are of course a multitude of
plot holes, though thankfully most of these are not too glaring. Unfortunately,
the film loses its convictions before the end, and what could have been a fairly
neat little thriller is ruined by the pointless and distasteful inclusion of a
ludicrous and cheap-looking CGI monster, whose presence serves only to undermine
all that has gone before.
The final nail in
the coffin, for older viewers at least, is the complete lack of visceral
content. Whilst there is something to be said for the value of restraint,
"Boogeyman" is simply not a film which is intelligent enough to
warrant the pulling of punches, and thus its reluctance to show anything
unpleasant makes it rather dull. This is a film where very little actually
happens beyond a few loud noises and some would-be ominous atmospherics, and
there is very little attempt to generate any feelings of menace or threat.
Of course, given "Boogeyman's" probable
pre-pubescent target audience, the lack of gore is forgivable enough, though the
film's apparent lack of ambition beyond providing standard fare is not. As a
result, "Boogeyman" is unlikely to be enjoyed by anyone outside of its
teen demographic, or anyone who has seen enough genre films to roll their eyes
at the horror clichés which Kay relies upon so heavily.
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