Boogeyman (2012)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

RELEASED TO TV IN 2012 and directed by Jeffery Scott Lando, "Boogeyman" concerns a single cop father in a small town in Michigan (Eddie McClintock) and his attractive female partner (Amy Bailey) who investigate the mysterious death of a nasty recluse who seemed to be keeping 'something' in the attic, but 'it' was released and is now on a murderous rampage. Emma Samms plays the chief of police while Danny Horn & Gabriel Steele play the father's two sons, a teen and adolescent respectively.This is NOT the theatrically released "Boogeyman" from 2005, which started the 3-movie franchise, but rather a standalone TV flick. The cast, locations, monster and plot are all fine. In spirit, it's akin to the Friday the 13th sequels after the first two movies; even the 'monster' looks like Jason when he morphed into an inhuman zombie by Part VI (1986). Speaking of the monster, they reveal him right from the get-go, which destroys any suspense. Even the Friday the 13th sequels waited till the end to reveal Jason's hideous face. Speaking of which, every Friday the 13th flick is a masterpiece compared to this movie.What's wrong with this version of "Boogeyman"? While the eventual explanation of the monster is interesting and unexpected (I'm not going to give it away), the movie smacks of amateurism in script and overall execution (you'll know what I mean). The filmmakers try to make up for it with quirky or amusing moments (e.g. the two lesbians), but it wasn't enough. The flick needed a serious rewrite and to work out the kinks in execution, but these take time, and time costs money, which the producers weren't willing to spend.THE MOVIE RUNS 85 minutes. Unfortunately, I can't find any info on where it was shot, but it doesn't look like lower Michigan, although I suppose it COULD be Upper Peninsula Michigan, but I doubt it. WRITER (term used loosely): David Reed.GRADE: D+

Most of the SyFy movies are either bad or bottom-of-the-barrel. There are a few tolerable ones out there, but they are too far and between. I'll start off to say that Boogeyman is not among SyFy's worst, and I didn't think it was a terrible film. It was one of those films that did have some promise but didn't live up to that. Boogeyman does start off decently, the idea was good and the beginning set a good atmosphere. The film does have a couple of good things beyond that, the monster effects for SyFy are not too bad, they are not great but much improved from most of the SyFy monsters I've seen. Plus, this monster actually is quite menacing, rather than being over or under-utilised and not doing all that much. Visually, it is not so bad either, I was expecting choppy editing and the like, and while there is some stiffness there is definitely much worse around. The scenery is sometimes basic, but does set a foreboding tone and has some authenticity. However, there are a lot of faults still. The acting is better than most SyFy movies, but is not great. The leads have some likability but the younger boy especially is awful. The way the characters are written doesn't help either, nobody stood out as likable, none of them are developed all that convincingly and some in places even had an over-the-top vibe. I was particularly annoyed by the police chief, her constant pep talks and huddle ups are enough to make anybody mad. I also disliked how the boys were made to look like idiots in some parts of the movie. The dialogue is likewise lame, it is very cheesy and little of it rings true. Disappointing also is the story, after a decent start it quickly turns into predictability and utter stupidity with nothing standing out as creepy, suspenseful or convincing. The monster does elevate things, but the aimless exposition and the bland build-ups hamper the scenes with it in from being any more than they actually were. There are a couple of jolts, but little beyond that and I was often thinking "I've seen this all before... and done better". Further spilt by a rushed and rather contrived finale, Boogeyman is better than most SyFy movies and had potential but doesn't live up to it. 4/10 Bethany Cox

OK.. not REALLY a 10 when compared to "REAL" movies. But this bit of Syfy channel horror fluff had more than the usual amount of funny quips....The best:"Hey, I found my cell!"....There are quite a few more good lines.Not a bad bit of background entertainment while you're doing something else. Doesn't take much effort to watch with your peripheral attention, and when a line does catch your ear, a chuckle may follow.The characters were much more fully developed than what is typically found in these disposable scifi/horror shows. This also sets this movie apart than the norm.

Boogeyman (2012) ** (out of 4) Average SyFy production has brothers going into a creepy house and accidentally letting loose the title character, a burned faced monster who can kill with its bare hands. Soon the boy's father (Eddie McClintock), a cop, is investigating while his partner/lover (Amy Bailey) might know more than she's telling. BOOGEYMAN (there's no "the" before the title) is certainly far from the majority of the bad movies that turn up on SyFy but at the same time its not that good either. In reality this turned out to be one of those movies that features some interesting things in it but they never really add up to be a good movie. Everything here from the direction to the performances are good but there's just something missing from the film. I think it would have helped had there not been the entire Biblical thing going on. I'm not a moralist or anything, I don't object to religion being used but I just didn't think it worked here. Another problem is that none of the characters are all that interesting and since we spend a lot of time with them, it certainly would have helped to make them more likable. Again, I thought the performances were rather good and this includes the two leads. They share a nice chemistry together and they certainly overcame their weak characters. I also really enjoyed the look of the monster. The burned, skull-like face was very effective and I thought it was one of the better monster designs I've seen in a while. His killing power was also fun to watch. With that said, BOOGEYMAN is worth watching if you're a major fan of the genre but it's still way short of being a classic or even a good film.