Don't Look Under the Bed (1999)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I've detailed in previous posts my feelings about the current state of children's television. And while the Disney Channel is the main culprit, I do long for 1999 again when Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) were at their peak. Sure, they were cheesy and full of head-scratching character decisions, but we loved them anyway because the protagonists were just like us.Don't Look Under the Bed follows Frances (Erin Chambers), a teenage girl living in a small town where, one day, strange things start happening. Dogs are on the roof, the high school's pool is filled with gelatin, and the letter "B" is spray painted all over town. Everyone is convinced that it's Frances who's pulling these pranks, but she befriends Larry Houdini (Ty Hodges)--an imaginary person who only she can see--who informs her that the Boogeyman is framing her. So she tries to figure out why he seems to have a bone to pick with her.The film is full of twists and has some fun scenes that actually hold up fairly well considering the age of the movie and the target demographic.Not that it's not without a little schmaltz, but believe it or not, compared to its counterparts, Don't Look Under the Bed isn't terribly cloying at all--possibly due to the fact that it's directed by Kenneth Johnson--the creator of The Bionic Woman and The Incredible Hulk TV series. Whatever the reason, if you saw this movie as a child, chances are it stuck with you.It's Disney Channel's only PG-rated DCOM--and for a good reason. The scenes with the Boogeyman are seriously creepy. They still haunt me to this day. However, they never make the film lose its youthful essence. Rather, it may be more appealing since it fails to insult its young audience. There's a good enough balance between the macabre and the jovial to maintain its fun nature.The issues it deals with may not be the deepest, but it's no Dude, Where's My Car either. The themes include deep-rooted denial and growing up too fast. It gets its point across without feeling overly preachy. And even older audiences will find the intrinsic emotions relatable and may cause them to conjure up fond memories of their own childhood--much in a Toy Story type of way.In the last 15 minutes, the characters venture into Boogeyland, which is a real highlight to this movie. The world that the filmmakers create is so spooky and detailed that we feel like we're there too. We wait throughout the whole story to find out where the Boogeyman goes when he's not creating chaos, and the answer definitely lives up to our expectations.The film's biggest pitfall is its lead actress. She's alright when she's just conversing with other characters, but as soon as she shows any kind of grand emotion, her conviction is nowhere to be found.But the plot holes are scarce and mostly towards the beginning, so we grant it forgiveness during its final act--which may the single greatest ending to any DCOM. In Don't Look Under the Bed the characters have a lot to lose, and while so many others of its kind take the easy way out, this one really works for it.Twizard Rating: 84

Erin Chambers and Ty Hodges star in this Disney feature film where young teen Chambers is haunted from her past by a childhood memory. Hodges is the boogeyman come to life.According to Boogey legend an imaginary childhood friend should not be discarded so easily lest they become the feared boogeyman. So it was with Chambers's brother who lost his faith in the existence of imaginary friends during a serious illness. Now the friend has come to life and trying to reverse the curse.Watching the film put me in mind of my niece when she was small. The elder of two sisters she had imaginary playmates, but she grew out of them after a fashion. Her younger sister never took up that particular fantasy though.Chambers is way too old for the part she sure didn't look a convincing 14. That's the way it is, always casting people too old for teens in Hollywood. Still in her case she couldn't convince me she was a juvenile try as she may.Don't Look Under The Bed is a charming fantasy which would have worked better with a real teen lead.

Although this movie seems strange to me at times, it's still all good stuff. Kids like it a lot, and it seems to be one of the better original movies from Disney. Its fun and a good ride, and my sister did a good job as the logical thinking, Frances. Ty did a good job too. Hope I get to talk to him again. Over all though, I liked this movie, you should see it sometime.

Spoilers herein.What fascinates me about film is how robust it is. There are lots of approaches, and many work.One approach is to center everything on archetypical (often stereotypical) faces. Then the plot and camera are all turned to the service of working the mental links those faces induce. That's the approach with much on TeeVee, and is the case here. One of these faces is so remarkable, I at first wondered whether it had been altered (beyond the makeup that is).Redheaded Erin Chambers has one of those exploitable faces, and that's what motivates this project. She occupies a place on the cute side of Molly Ringwald, less perky than Judy Garland and more Irish than Alicia Witt. She acts well enough to survive in this kind of work.One wonders what is in that head? Such a face drives away from real acting, both in the types of projects it attracts and in the cheap shortcuts it allows. It will be interesting to follow.