Boogeyman (2005)

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

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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]
Jessica: Hey, you're not getting weird on me again are you?
Tim: No.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Boogeyman 3 (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bodega

I've Coughed Up Scarier Stuff Than This

The one genuinely scary moment in director Stephen Kay's laughable excuse for a horror film occurs during the end credits, when the audience discovers that it actually took three professional screenwriters to pen this abominable nightmare. The last few years have been a golden age for modestly budgeted fright flicks. Last fall's The Grudge proved that if you market a film well and release it at just the right time, there's no end to the money you can make. I walked away from that film rather disappointed, but my confusion paled in comparison to the slack-jawed bewilderment that consumed me during Boogeyman.

The film's opening sequence features a man being ravaged by an unseen monster while his son observes helplessly. Fifteen years later we discover that Tim (Barry Watson) has never properly dealt with his father's sudden, grisly death. After learning that his mother has passed away, Tim returns home for her funeral. While in town he decides to face his fears by staying overnight in his unusually creepy boyhood home.

A series of muddled, incomplete ideas figure their way into the plot, but ultimately the story is nonsensical and just plain stupid. As with most recent horror films, Boogeyman provides no real terror, and instead attempts to startle the viewer by adding abrupt, loud noises to the soundtrack. The final straw is the title character itself, revealed briefly during the film's climax to be nothing more than a ridiculous, computer-animated mess. Avoid this moronic snoozefest like the plague.

Rating: D-