Boogeyman

Mr. Pat

11 minutes ago

5 min read

My guy watched another horror movie last night! As a family, we watched Monster Squad! I reviewed it a few years back and loved it. Dear wasn't too happy with some of the language, especially at the beginning, but they all liked it! I'm glad that Lincoln got more emotional about the ending with Frankenstein's monster than he did with the scary parts. Small steps, but we're getting there! In any case, let's talk about...

Boogeyman (2005)

Years ago, before "The Boys" came out, Erik Kripke (Toledo native) had a talk at the Peristyle at the Toledo Museum of Art. Dear and I are big "Supernatural" fans, so of course we went to go see him. It was pretty cool hearing him talk about the show. For those who pay attention, Kripke included multiple references to the Glass City in Supernatural. The Bloody Mary episode in the first season actually "takes place" in Toledo. One of the things I found out was that Boogeyman was the first movie he ever wrote, and he never wanted to get into horror; he wanted to be a comedy writer before he kinda fell into Boogeyman. He spent a little time ragging on the movie before moving on. I was surprised by his thoughts on the movie because I apparently like it a lot more than he does.

We start the movie late at night in Tim Jenson's room. He's clearly scared of the things in his room as the camera keeps showing different creepy things that are scaring him. There's a really good moment when Tim gets freaked out because there's someone sitting in a chair across from his bed, and when he turns on his light, he realizes it's just some clothes that he left out. He turns it off again, and a few seconds later, the pile of clothes stands up in the shape of a man. He turns the light on again, and the clothes fall to the floor. Unfortunately, the storm outside knocks over his lamp, leaving him defenseless. That's when his dad comes in to reassure his son before getting sucked into the closet.

We then jump ahead to Tim's adult years, and while he tries to hide it, the memory of that night and the Boogeyman haunt him. He spent much of his childhood in therapy, where they tried to convince him there was nothing hiding in his closet, and another chunk was spent with his mom, played by Ruby from "Ash vs. Evil Dead." I've heard a rumor people know her as Xena the Warrior Princess, but nah, that's Ruby. His mom is convinced that dad skipped town, and she blames Tim for it. While things weren't exactly great for Tim at home before, that incident made a bad situation even worse.

The beginning sequence reminds me so much of Darkness Falls. You remember that one? The 2003 movie about the baddie they called "the tooth fairy." That movie started super strong, and Boogeyman takes a whole lot from that opening scene: kid scared of the dark, monster sneaking around the kid's room, light forces it away, hides under a blanket, parent comes in to reassure child and then gets taken. While Darkness Falls falls off a cliff after that awesome ending, outside of some unintentionally hilarious moments. Boogeyman, however, manages to hold on for a lot longer. I may get into what made Darkness Falls so funny in a future review, but let's focus back on Boogeyman.

Tim learns that his mom has died, and while back in his hometown, his former doctor convinces him to stay the night at his old house to prove that there's nothing going on, and it was all in his head. But of course, we saw it happen, so we know he's not crazy. We know there's something evil hiding in the closet. And we know things aren't going to end well.

I may be in the minority, but I really dug this movie. While it's not the most original of setups, it does do some very cool things. One that's pretty clever, and one that I have never seen in a movie before and think is just plain awesome. We follow Tim along as he tries to get his head on straight, walking through his old town. While looking out his window, he sees his old friend, Kate, played by Zoey Deschanel's older sister Emily. You may also recognize her as the main cop on "Bones."

The two have a nice time together until he notices something in an upstairs window and freaks her out to the point where she says, "Lol, if you don't leave, I'm calling the police." From there he starts piecing together that there's something bigger going on, and things, for him, go from bad to worse.

I really liked it. For a well-known monster, and a premise that doesn't tread new ground, it did some cool things. There is one thing that I absolutely loved, but I worry that how I try to describe it will make it sound a whole lot less cool than it really is. Tim's g/f comes to his old house, and they agree to leave and stop at a motel. G/f disappears, and while looking for her, he steps into a closet and then ends up back at his old house, miles away. Later in the movie, the Boogeyman is tired of hiding in the shadows and decides to really go for it and starts wiping out Tim's buddies. Tim, while chasing after and trying to rescue them, follows the monster after under beds and through closets and those places act as portals. I know it sounds silly, but it's very cool. That's where the Boogeyman is always hiding, so it makes sense that he'd use them as ways to get around. It's such a cool thing and very unique.

The final showdown is both good and bad. I enjoyed how it showed why the Boogeyman looks the way he does. Basically, everything that scared Tim on the night his dad was taken made up the Boogeyman's physical form. When he learned the way to defeat the baddie, it was cool seeing it play out and understanding what was happening. I also liked the twist of the little girl who helped him. It's nothing that'll set the world on fire, but it was good because there's no way he was going to figure it out on his own.

Barry Watson as Tim in Boogeyman (2005).

I also liked the main actor. Looking through his IMDB page, he's mainly a TV guy, and it seems like this was his only movie starring role. Still, I think he was good. Outside of his acting, and I don't mean this as an insult, his entire look and demeanor just scream someone constantly battling past trauma. The actor was clearly off from the beginning, and everything about Barry Watson in this movie fit perfectly. He looks and acts normal, but he's a guy you give a wide berth to if you're passing him on the street.

Before we go, I have a few quibbles I want to discuss. While I enjoyed the final showdown for the most part, it kind of seems too easy. I mean, his uncle is picking up the place, decades after the incident, and both his mom and uncle decided to keep the room exactly as it was the days the father died? Also, the Boogeyman seems to really hate Tim and it's never explained as to why. Statistically speaking, if you look at the monster's body count, Tim can't be the only person that survived him. This monster goes out of his way to screw with Tim, but there's really no reason for it.

Still, it's enjoyable, no matter what critics or Kripke himself thinks.