“Boogeyman” (Screen Gems)
“Boogeyman” is a movie that features a fair amount of chills and thrills. I’ll give it that. But what does any of the plot mean It seems the scriptwriter’s idea of plausibility was to throw a hundred images up on the screen and hope something sticks. Guess what Nothing did!
Tim Jensen (Barry Watson) has had a bad life. When he was eight years old the “boogeyman” snatched his father right in front of him. Since no one would believe him the story was that dear old dad just ran out on the family. Now fifteen years later mom (Lucy Lawless) has died and Tim goes home for the funeral. He also goes to spend one more night in the family place and face his fears.
This storyline could have been the basis for a fairly good movie, if any thought had been given to the script. Instead it is just one contrived idea after another. We get Skye McCole Bartusiak as a child who wanders into Tim’s life. She may have been one of the “boogeyman’s” victims but we never know that. Then there is Kate (Emily Deschanel). She is an old friend, but why does she come over and wander through Tim’s deserted home
None of it makes any sense and in that respect it is just as bad as the recent “Alone In the Dark” EXCEPT it does have some moments that are frightening. This prevents total boredom from settling in and causes some enjoyment on the part of the audience.
Watson is acceptable in the role of Tim. He has a brooding, haunted quality that makes the audience warm up to him. After all those years on TV’s “Seventh Heaven” he has attracted a fan following and they will follow him into theaters to watch this shocker.
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and profanity. The ads said there was supposed to be brief nudity in there too, but if it was there it was when I had my eyes shut.
If you just want to be scared and don’t mind a movie that doesn’t have a plot, then you ought to enjoy “Boogeyman.” All others will be disappointed and disgusted by its lack of a script that moves from point A to point B.
I scored “Boogeyman” a closeted 4 out of 10.
