I didn't have the faintest idea when starting Beware the Boogeyman that it would turn out to be an anthology film. Fittingly themed around the concept of the boogeyman monster, this features five different short films and a neatly sized wraparound story. Where this really fell down though was with the design of the titular monster.
Dr. Tristian Mackenzie (Elissa Dowling - Bloodthirst, Amber Road) has gone for an induction at a remote mental institute. During this induction she meets with Dr. Gabey Moon (Airisa Durand - An Amityville Poltergeist) who explains that many of the patients bizarrely share an identical delusion of having encountered the titular monster. Five of the patient's case files are spoken about - this makes up the five short films contained within the anthology.
As a wraparound this was a decent format to present the shorts, I did feel that the place this ends up going to felt a bit abrupt and not really explained that well.
As a wraparound this was a decent format to present the shorts, I did feel that the place this ends up going to felt a bit abrupt and not really explained that well.
The shorts all follow a similar title format, the first of these is 'Case File No.1'. Here, a woman (Chynna Rae Shurts) has invited a man back to her home for what he believes to be a one night stand. Instead the woman explains that she is scared of being alone in her bedroom at night and believes that a boogeyman lives in her closet.
A recurring issue for the anthology as a whole was the really underwhelming look of the boogeyman creature. It is always teased by a green light appearing, with the creature itself being someone in black robes with a fake looking monster mask on. The design of this was just so bland and forgettable that it automatically sucked any kind of scares out of all the shorts. Regardless of the lead up, when it results in this same kind of lame looking monster appearing then it is hard to get too pumped for what is to come.
A recurring issue for the anthology as a whole was the really underwhelming look of the boogeyman creature. It is always teased by a green light appearing, with the creature itself being someone in black robes with a fake looking monster mask on. The design of this was just so bland and forgettable that it automatically sucked any kind of scares out of all the shorts. Regardless of the lead up, when it results in this same kind of lame looking monster appearing then it is hard to get too pumped for what is to come.
'Case File No.2' fares a little better. In this Josh Dietrich directed one, an artist - Olivia (Nicolette Pullen - Pillow Party Massacre) begins to suspect her new medication is causing her to lose time and short term memories, mainly revolving around a painting that is steadily being done, but which she has no memory of painting. The parts around the painting weren't bad
'Case File No.3' directed by Kai Pacifico Eng is perhaps the most dull of the five films. Two brothers hiding out at a remote home after a bank robbery that went wrong begin to fragment after the younger of the two begins to hallucinate a boogeyman creature. The problem with the shorts as a whole is that it is only really the lead up part that is any different, the subsequent boogeyman attacks always felt extremely similar to each other.
Sometimes the build up can be good, I thought that 'Case File No.4' was the best of the lot, at least with the beginning. Ghost hunter John Conroy (Steve Larkin - Conjuring: The Beyond) has hired Rose (Jax Kellington) to help him explore an allegedly haunted house, with the man determined to find prove that the boogeyman actually exists. Blending in some decent enough found footage style moments and with the John character having more knowledge than he initially lets on, this was a decent enough short.
Sometimes the build up can be good, I thought that 'Case File No.4' was the best of the lot, at least with the beginning. Ghost hunter John Conroy (Steve Larkin - Conjuring: The Beyond) has hired Rose (Jax Kellington) to help him explore an allegedly haunted house, with the man determined to find prove that the boogeyman actually exists. Blending in some decent enough found footage style moments and with the John character having more knowledge than he initially lets on, this was a decent enough short.
Final of the films, the surprisingly titled 'Case File No.5' is a dip in quality again. In this one (directed by Shurts), a recovering alcoholic living with his long suffering mother ignores her superstitious warnings about summoning the boogeyman should he give in to his addiction. Not the best one here but I did think the ending was not bad.
I do love a good anthology but unfortunately Beware the Boogeyman wasn't one of those. It was a shame that all shorts feature the same looking monster as it really didn't look good. The artificial green light that appears never helped, and the pay-off for each of the stories felt far too similar. This led to an unfortunate feeling of boredom, though there was potential in many of the stories.
SCORE:
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