Boogeyman (2005)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Stephen T. Kay

Writers (WGA):

Eric Kripke (story)
Eric Kripke (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 February 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You thought it was a just a story... but it's real.

Plot:

A young man tries to deal with the childhood terror that has affected his life.

Plot Keywords:

Childhood | Boogeyman | Fear | Hometown | Uncle

Cast

Barry Watson	...	Tim
Emily Deschanel	...	Kate Houghton
Skye McCole Bartusiak	...	Franny Roberts
Tory Mussett	...	Jessica
Andrew Glover	...	Boogeyman
Lucy Lawless	...	Tim's Mother
Charles Mesure	...	Tim's Father
Philip Gordon	...	Uncle Mike
Aaron Murphy	...	Young Tim
Jennifer Rucker	...	Pam
Scott Wills	...	Co-Worker
Michael Saccente	...	Jessica's Dad
Louise Wallace	...	Jessica's Mom
Brenda Simmons	...	Jessica's Grandma
Josie Tweed	...	Jessica's Sister

Also Known As:

Boogeyman - Der schwarze Mann (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of horror and terror/violence, and some partial nudity.

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA | New Zealand | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:18SG | France:-12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41008) | Greece:K-17 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Albert Park, Princes Street, Auckland Central Business District, Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

Screen Gems

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tim goes swerves around the truck on his way to the house you can see a hubcap rolling off the left side of his car. Both hubcaps are on the left side of his car in following scenes.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Tim: For fifteen years, everybody told me I was making it up. Everyone said it was just a story. There's no such thing as the Boogeyman. But I was right.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Bodega

Scary Effects, Promising but Empty Story, Awful and Ridiculous Conclusion

Tim (Barry Watson) is a young man with a great trauma: when his father left his family sixteen years ago, in his imagination his father was indeed taken by the Boogeyman. In Thanksgiving, while visiting the family of his girlfriend Jessica (Tory Mussett), his uncle Mike (Philip Gordon) calls him informing that his mother has just passed away. Tim travels to his hometown, meets his former crush Kate Houghton (Emily Deschanel) and advised by his shrink, decides to spend the night is in old home to face the monster of his imagination. Along the night, weird events happen with Tim and his closest friends.

"Boogeyman" was really a great deception for me. I saw the trailer and I expected a promising story, exploring the fear of darkness of children through the American legend of the monster in the closet. (Note: in Brazil, we do not have the legend of the "monster in the closet". The legend of the Boogeyman does exist (it is called "Bicho-Papão"), but its location is not specified and certainly is not necessarily in a closet). However, the story is very empty, without explanation, and with an awful and ridiculous conclusion. In the DVD, there is a not good alternate ending, but better and better than the released conclusion. The scary effects and the music score are the best this movie can offer. "Boogeyman" is watchable, not a masterpiece of the genre, but also not among "the worst horror movies" as commented by some users. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Pesadelo" ("The Nightmare")