The Boogens (1981)

Let's be realistic.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The Boogens differs from a lot of animal-on-the-rampage features of its era for two reasons: firstly, it is never exactly clear what kind of animal is on the rampage; and secondly, its style is more akin to a slasher movie than the nature-strikes-back genre. Only in the final ten minutes do we actually get a glimpse of the titular creatures, and even then the script avoids definitively identifying them as a species (they are best described as giant turtles with sharp teeth and a penchant for human flesh). The slasher genre motifs are pretty evident throughout – we have a) creepily atmospheric P.O.V shots as the boogens move around stalking their victims, b) young oversexed couples staying in a remote house, c) numerous false scares before the real killings begin, and d) the obligatory shower scene.Young mineworkers Mark (Fred McCarren) and Roger (Jeff Harlan) - supervised by older miners Brian (John Crawford) and Dan (Med Flory) - reopen a disused silver mine with explosives many decades after it was originally sealed. Unbeknown to them, they also release some subterranean turtle-like creatures (boogens) at the same time. Mark and Roger are due to move into a log cabin in the area the following day, and their girlfriends Jessica (Anne-Marie Martin) and Trish (Rebecca Balding) are already en route to join them. It isn't long before the boogens are on the loose in the community, hungrily devouring their first victim – the departing cabin owner, spending her final night there before moving out. The young new owners, plus their pet dog, look set to be next on the menu. It's just as well that crazy old loon Greenwalt (Jon Lormer) – an ex-miner who happens to be the only living soul who knows the boogens exist – is on hand to deliver the obligatory "you-had-to-go-and-release-them-didn't-ya?" speech, galvanising the survivors into action in time for the final reel.Perhaps The Boogens greatest claim to fame is that it received positive attention in an old edition of Twilight Zone magazine from one Stephen King. "A wildly energetic monster movie" was King's glowing review of the film, though it should be noted that he hated the film version of The Shining and, when given the chance to direct a movie himself, gave us the abysmal Maximum Overdrive… so his credentials as a movie critic are not to be accepted without caution. Nevertheless, there are good things in The Boogens. It has surprisingly convincing and witty dialogue, the acting is generally rather good, and its early sequences are all the more spine-tingling for keeping the creatures hidden off-screen. Two scenes in particular, set in the cellar beneath the cabin, generate stomach-knotting unease, while the build-up to each boogen attack pays off handsomely thanks to atmospheric lighting and clever use of false alarms before the actual pay-off. Logic is in short supply throughout and the monsters, when they finally appear, are somewhat unconvincing… but overall The Boogens is an under-appreciated entry in the animals-on-the-rampage sub-genre.

"The Boogens" is a fun fright feature, set in Colorado and filmed in Utah, about a silver mine that's being opened up after years of being closed. Unfortunately, the characters of this movie only find out, once it's too late, of course, that there's a very good reason the mine was closed. And now this unseen menace is on the loose, and very aggressive.No less an authority than Stephen King gives this movie his seal of approval, and this does have a number of assets that make it above average of its kind. First, it concentrates on characters somewhat older than the typical teens to be found in much horror fare of the time. (Granted, one of them is the sex starved type.) Another advantage is the very rural setting and the wintry atmosphere. The caves may be sets, but they work out alright, especially that underground lake. Bob Summers's music is excellent, as is the lighting by Paul Hipp. The story gets off to an intriguing start as the necessary exposition is conveyed using newspaper headlines instead of, say, a scrolling text.The cast couldn't be more likable: perky Rebecca Balding ("Silent Scream") is aspiring journalist Trish (she also shows us a little of her T & A), Fred McCarren and Dana Carvey lookalike Jeff Harlan are miners and buddies Mark and Roger, lovely Anne-Marie Martin ("Prom Night" 1980, "Halloween II" 1981) is Roger's girlfriend Jessica, John Crawford and Med Flory the two guys overseeing the mine opening, and Jon Lormer ("Creepshow") who serves as our resident "crazy old guy with the warnings", who tries to prevent the inevitable disaster from taking place. Hell, the movie also has a great acting dog playing Tiger; this canine is a shameless pest, but a very endearing one.The pacing is efficient and there is some good suspense to enjoy, as well as little doses of gore here and there. Only when the time comes for the monsters to be revealed does this descend more into "so bad it's good" type stuff; it's hard not to bust a gut when they make their appearance. (To be honest, though, we only ever see one at a time due to budget limitations.) The things are too goofy looking - in fact, they're too cute (!) to inspire any real terror.But in general this is a well done early 80's creature feature whose release on DVD and Blu-ray was much appreciated. One bit of advice is to see it with "My Bloody Valentine" and "The Strangeness" for an engaging triple feature of mine horror.Eight out of 10.

The Boogens is a 1981 horror flick that has become a bit of a cult classic partially due to it's unavailability for almost 2 decades and partially for it's amusing title. It's just fun to say "Boogens". The film also has sentimental importance to me, as it was one of the horror flicks I saw with friends at the legendary Oritani grind house in Hackensack, N.J. A time when B movies were still released in a theater, where they belong, and a time I now cherish in this direct to DVD and VOD age. Now being given the chance to revisit this low budget chiller, it's time to answer the question of whether it's as fun as I remember or has time and nostalgia created a far better memory then it was a movie. And I'm happy to report it still is a fun flick, although 80s nostalgia does play a part. In a way, "Boogens" is a quintessential horror for the late 70s, early 80s with it's slow burn, creepy old man with ominous warnings, and nubile girls in skimpy bathrobes investigating noises in dark cellars. This is exactly the type of movie Ti West paid homage to in the recent "House Of The Devil". A few months later Evil Dead would arrive and crank horror flicks up to 11 and Jason was just getting started on his body count.This 1981 horror stars Rebecca Balding ("Silent Scream") and takes place in rural Silver City, Colorado, a small mining town where the mines are being reopened for the first time since a supposed cave-in 70 years previous. But, unknown to two college grads (Fred McCarren and Jeff Harlan) working on the re-opening and their two nubile young ladies (Balding and the equally cute, Ann-Marie Martin), the mines were caved in on purpose and unsealing the tunnels unleashes our title creatures and they are quite hungry.Boogens is well directed by James L. Conway who also directed pseudo-documentaries like "Hanger 18" and "In Search Of Noah's Ark" and who went on to direct a lot of genre TV including episodes of all the post-original "Star Trek" series and the current, "Supernatural". He directs with a leisurely pace but, builds some nice suspense and also knows to keep his monsters hidden until the very end. And when we do see them, they are good old fashioned prosthetics, there's something charming about prosthetics that CGI rarely matches. He gets good performances out of his cast and the fact that they are all very likable helps add suspense when they are in danger. There is some nice gore but, it is used sparingly and the body count is low. This movie was made just as the slasher sub-genre started to gain momentum and before body count became crucial to the proceedings.Sure, by today's standards "The Boogens" is tame, slow and cheesy but, it is the type of horror that they made when I was in high school and I will always have a soft spot in my movie geek heart for them. The transfer on blu-ray is absolutely beautiful and it's worth a look for horror fans, especially those who enjoy horror from this era. Welcome back, "Boogens".

A group of miners unleash scaly monsters in 'The Boogens'. They decide to explore and open up a silver mine that's been closed since 1912. By setting off explosives, they unleash the creatures which are able to travel through underground tunnels all over town. We get some mid-movie filler of two couples in love, it drags on a bit. The Boogens major flaw is the dragging on that takes place for almost the first hour of the film. They focus on character development for so much of it, which is refreshing for a horror movie, but can get a little boring really soon. The monsters are also not shown to viewers until the end of the movie, and there are no really good monster scenes until about an hour in. However when the Boogens strikes, the kill scenes are very effective. The ending is a bit disappointing and felt rushed. The film has some lesser known actors including Anne Marie Martin who was brilliant in another 80's horror flick Prom Night. I don't know what to think about 'The Boogens'. It's an effective horror flick at times, but can be a bit of a bore for long stretches of time. Any horror fan should search this out, but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be.Side note: This movie has one of the cutest dogs to ever star in a motion picture.6/10