The Boogeyman (1980)

Director:

Ulli Lommel

Writers:

David Herschel (writer)
Ulli Lommel (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

7 November 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The most terrifying nightmare of childhood is about to return!

Plot:

Through the reflection in the mirror, a girl witnesses her mother's boyfriends murder.

Plot Keywords:

Brother Sister Relationship | Children | Crucifix | Child Abuse | Priest

Cast

Suzanna Love	...	Lacey
Ron James	...	Jake
John Carradine	...	Dr. Warren
Nicholas Love	...	Willy
Raymond Boyden	...	Kevin
Felicite Morgan	...	Aunt Helen
Bill Rayburn	...	Uncle Ernest
Llewelyn Thomas	...	Father Reilly
Jay Wright	...	Young Willy
Natasha Schiano	...	Young Lacey
Gillian Gordon	...	Lacey and Willy's Mother
Howard Grant	...	The Lover
Jane Pratt	...	Jane
Lucinda Ziesing	...	Susan
David Swim	...	Timmy
Katie Casey	...	Teenager
Ernest Meier	...	Teenager
Stony Richards	...	Teenager
Claudia Porcelli	...	Teenager
Catherine Tambini	...	Katy

Directed by
Ulli Lommel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Herschel		writer
Ulli Lommel		writer
Suzanna Love		writer

Produced by
Gillian Gordon	....	line producer
Ulli Lommel	....	producer
Wolf Schmidt	....	executive producer
Terrell Tannen	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Tim Krog

Cinematography by
Jochen Breitenstein
David Sperling

Film Editing by
Terrell Tannen

Art Direction by
Robert Morgan

Set Decoration by
David Weiss

Production Management
Howard Grant	....	production manager

Sound Department
Stuart Deutsch	....	sound mixer
Jane Goldsmith	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Craig Harris	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Philippe Carr-Forster	....	still photographer
Steve Dubin	....	camera assistant
Arthur Gardner	....	lighting technician
Chris Li	....	camera assistant
Jürg V. Walther	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Philippe Carr-Forster	....	assistant editor
Sharon Oreck	....	assistant editor
Malsy Prévotat	....	assistant editor (as Malsy Prevotat)

Music Department
Ed Christiano	....	music editor

Other crew
Neil Boyden	....	location manager
Ralph Boyden	....	location manager
Susan Ensley	....	assistant to director
Stace Hill	....	production assistant
Rudy Laurent	....	assistant to director
Yvonne Winters	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Jerry Gross Organization, The

Distributors

• Jerry Gross Organization, The (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Hollywood Home Entertainment (video)
• Image Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Magnum Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Succéfilm AB (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO) (1981) (UK) (VHS)
• Video Invest AB (????) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Wizard Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The Bogey Man (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

82 min | UK:85 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating: 1980) | Finland:(Banned) (heavily cut) (1981) | Finland:K-18 (heavily cut) (1981) (re-rating) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1992) (cut) (re-rating: 2000) (uncut) | UK:(Banned) (1984-1992) | Australia:R | France:-16 | Norway:(Banned) (video version) (1983) | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA

Company:

Jerry Gross Organization, The

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Lacey and Kevin are at the lake and Kevin says, "Mommy, mommy, I caught a fish, I caught a fish!" He is shouting, yet it is clearly Lacey doing the reeling in - you can see her shirtsleeves and it is a female adults arms and hands. Even more obviously, little Kevin is wearing a long-sleeved jacket.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Teenager Movie (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Baby Go Bye Bye

Very strange film. Not easy to review!

Spoilers

Is THE BOOGEYMAN a good movie? Not really. Is it a bad movie? Well, not really. Is it a strange movie? Oh, yeah!

THE BOOGEYMAN was most likely green-lighted after the massive success of HALLOWEEN. So obviously, the Ulli Lommel film starring the beautiful Suzanna Love contains many elements that closely resemble the John Carpenter horror film. What's odd, though, is that THE BOOGEYMAN is also an amalgamation of several other horror films, like THE EXORCIST, AMITYVILLE HORROR and slashers in general.

The story is about two kids, Willy and Lacey, who kill their mother's kinky lover, who is abusive to them. This murder happens in front of a mirror and, somehow, the man's soul haunts it. 20 years later, the two kids are now young adults (played by Nicholas and Suzanna Love, real life brother and sister?) and are haunted by that tragic night. Willy hasn't spoken a word since he stabbed the man and Lacey is haunted by kinky, terrifying dreams. Oddly enough, Lacey seems to be more troubled by the murder than Willy. When seeing a psychiatrist, Lacey is suddenly possessed by the dead man's spirit (or evil in general?). And when they visit the house where the murder happened, only Lacey goes there. During this visit, Lacey sees the mirror again and inside the mirror, the "boogeyman" is seen walking towards her. Terrified, Lacey breaks the mirror and basically "releases" the boogeyman's murderous rage (BTW, this is the best scene in the movie. Very effective). Lacey's husband brings the broken mirror to their house (why?!?!) but leaves behind a shard at the house, which becomes "alive" and causes death to those who are living in that house.

Anyone coming in contact with any piece of the mirror is killed (mostly in clunky ways) or, in Lacey's case, becomes possessed and levitates. Why?!?! I dunno. At the end, there's an exorcism of sorts, with a priest coming to the rescue. Why?!?! I dunno.

Nothing makes much sense in THE BOOGEYMAN. For example, why is Willy scared of mirrors when he's the one who killed the man and didn't witness the killing in the mirror like Lacey did? The reason why the murdered man becomes a supernatural killer is murky, or why he haunts the mirror (and not a chair or a bed) and why is Lacey possessed from time to time. Had the film shown that the murdered man had supernatural powers to begin with might have made a bit more sense. Or that the brother and sister's pent-up terror is responsible for his coming back would also have been a bit more interesting. As is, the killer's raison d'être and intentions are unclear, to say the least.

The direction by Ulli Lommel is very peculiar. I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it the way the actors move about? The editing? The action, which always seems to break midway through a scene? The odd camera angles? The unfocused attention to details? The list goes on and on. I don't know if this was intentional (I doubt it) but it's different.

When you combine all of this mishmash of several movies with the very odd direction (which at times is goofy); the good to terrible acting from the cast; and the couple of questionable scenes, like when the boy is attached to the bed (which is probably why this film became a Nasty in the UK), the final product ain't stellar and yet, in the end, it's unique, in its own peculiar way. It's never really scary (most of the action happens in the daytime) and yet the film does have a undeniably creepy feel to it. The overall creepy mood of the film is achieved by the music and the excellent cinematography, which is by far the best thing in THE BOOGEYMAN. They really don't "shoot" films like this anymore.