It's coherent, consistent and should prove popular with the kids its intended for.
Boogeyman (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:11
Rotten:74
Average Rating:3.4/10
Consensus: The plot is been-there done-that generic, and none of the shock effects can do anything to build up suspense.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of horror and terror/violence, and some partial nudity
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Feb 4, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $46,363,118
Synopsis: Stephen T. Kay's stylish thriller, BOOGEYMAN, takes one of horror's mythical figures and transports him into the 21st century. Though Tim Jensen (Barry Watson) is a successful magazine editor with... Stephen T. Kay's stylish thriller, BOOGEYMAN, takes one of horror's mythical figures and transports him into the 21st century. Though Tim Jensen (Barry Watson) is a successful magazine editor with a beautiful girlfriend (Tory Mussett), his childhood continues to haunt him. When he was only eight years old, Tim watched his father get eaten by the Boogeyman, or at least that's how he remembers it. Of course, no one believed him then--not even his mother (Lucy Lawless), who has just recently passed away. Wracked with guilt for not having been there to say goodbye, Tim decides to spend the night in his childhood home and confront the Boogeyman once and for all. But before that happens, he reunites with his old friend Kate (Emily Deschanel) and meets a young girl (Skye McCole Bartusiak) who is holding onto a dark secret of her own. Kay and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski pack BOOGEYMAN with enough tension for several films, finding terror in every doorknob and around every corner. Watson and Deschanel deliver grounded performances even as the supernatural insanity swirls around them. The result is a work that relies more on shocks and thrills than actual blood and guts in order to frighten its audience. [More]
Starring: Lucy Lawless, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Barry Watson, Philip Gordon
Starring: Lucy Lawless, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Barry Watson, Philip Gordon, Emily Deschanel, Tory Mussett
Director: Stephen Kay
Director: Stephen Kay
Screenwriter: Eric Kripke, Stiles White, Juliet Snowden
Producer: Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi
Composer: Joseph LoDuca
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Reviews for Boogeyman
Only glimpses of the monster are seen in Stephen Kay's supernatural thriller. Unfortunately, the same is true of the movie's plot and character.
Because the movie never establishes its internal logic, the action can seem arbitrary and random.
...expose the skeletons in Boogeyman’s closet—you will certainly come across the bare bones because there’s no real meat to this thrill-seeking thud
Is it over? Watson is asked. Yeah, it's over, he says, possibly aware that he's commenting on his acting career.
When did young girls rollerblading backward become the universal symbol for spooky?
Frankly, watching dark closets for 90 minutes may not have been the best idea for a film. Watson unfortunately doesn’t have the screen presence to carry it off.
Once Emily Deschanel, older sister of Elf’s Zooey, steps on screen to provide Tim with a formidable female co-star, the film finds its rhythm.
Instead of heightening one’s fear of closets, it simply creates an overwhelming urge to head straight for the nearest theater door.
There is little time spent on plot and character and way more emphasis on jarring sound effects and fast-paced camera trickery.
Boogeyman represents flat-out suckage. It is a haphazard assemblage of horror clichés, punctuated by the occasional so-loud-it-makes-you-jump noise on the soundtrack.
It squanders a promising plot about child abduction, preferring to go the literal route of chasing a spectral troublemaker with a bad case of claustrophobia.
Yeah, it's dumb, and it takes a long time to get to scenes that amount to anything other than cheap scares. But Boogeyman is not entirely artless.
If Boogeyman signals more films like this to follow, there are far worse nightmares out there to come than whatever is lurking in your closet.
The not-too-frightening, plodding Boogeyman proves that major Hollywood studios like to dump all their stinkers at the beginning of the year.
Makes you yearn for the days when they got a few things down on paper before they started shooting a movie.
Latest News for Boogeyman
August 20, 2008:
They're Here: Poltergeist Remake Gets Writers ![]()
MGM's planned Poltergeist remake got a little bit closer to the screen yesterday, when the studio announced it had hired Boogeyman writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles White to pen... More...
January 31, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Montana Hopes to Win Super Bowl Trophy
While Brady and Manning duke it out in Phoenix, the $15 movie ticket aims to conquer the multiplexes over Super Bowl weekend. That's the admission price that theaters are... More...
February 05, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Messengers" Scores Slim Win Over Super Bowl Weekend
With the Super Bowl taking males out of the picture, mothers and daughters squared off at the North American box office this weekend with the younger set earning a slim victory.... More...
October 11, 2006:
"Boogeyman 2" Gets Director
There's another "Boogeyman" in the works, and it's got a director. According to Production Weekly (via Cinescape), it's Jeff Betancourt, who edited a number of recent... More...
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