THE BOOGEYMAN (1980)
Directed by Ulli Lommel
Wizard Video VHS
THE FILM
Two years ago, my analyst surmised that a lifelong obsession with trash-horror films was simply a substitute for confronting the "horrific" hurdles in my life. I bought it.
Two days ago, I was laid off for the second time in seven months. I felt like watching a movie. Yet, instead of reaching for City Lights or The Steamroller And The Violin or Sullivan's Travels, I went over to Dan's house and we watched The Boogeyman. Then, we watched Boogeyman II.
Today, I'm either a part-time nut or the most well-adjusted man in Los Angeles. But that no longer matters. Because I'm happy. And there's a very good chance that if you watch The Boogeyman and witness 1. A dude in a TRIUMPH t-shirt, and 2. A priest get killed via haunted mirrors, you will be smiling too. Therapy. Who needs it?
Lacey, that's who.
20 years ago, Lacey witnessed her brother, Willy, stab a guy wearing pantyhose on his head. It sounds awesome. It is awesome. From there, grown-up and tormented Lacey shares a farm with her grounded husband, goofy kid, boring grandma, passive-agressive grandpa, and mute Willy. Surprisingly, they don't do much. So Lacey visits her therapist, Dr. John Carradine. Then, her husband says, "Lacey, let's get ridda these ghosts...once and for all!" Suddenly, mirrors are painted black, inanimate objects are killing random people (like priests), and TRIUMPH is seen, but not heard. That's where the synths come in.
The ins 'n' outs of The Boogeyman are trivial. It's not a slasher, though it tries hard to be one (kind of like Superstition). The trajectory is slick, but haphazard. There are oddly-staged killings with a bit of gore. I fall asleep every time I watch it. So why do I watch it? Again: that's where the synths come in.
At a base level, The Boogeyman is a smart-yet-unexceptional supernatural horror film; it simply makes you smile. But then you REALLY see it. And hear it. And you get a little more. Director Ulli Lommel caresses us with lovely, wide open spaces, heavy on shadows and thick with greenery. Soundtracker Tim Krog and his "Synthe-Sound-Trax" smothers us with the sparsest/thickest/catchiest analog synth ambience since Wendy Carlos's work on A Clockwork Orange. Or whoever tickled the Moogs on Unhinged -- take your pick. Those elements converge. A mood is achieved. Everything feels right. The reasoning is inconsequential.
Hence, both Lacey and I discover that whatever makes you happy, makes you happy. All thanks to The Boogeyman.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The Boogeyman has been released on DVD twice in the past decade, but I don't own either of those discs. My Wizard tape has some crackle over the credits and the picture looks great. I will continue watching it for a very long time.
EXTRAS
Click on this link and make life that much more contented.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Boogeyman is not to be championed for being an inconsistently enjoyable low budget horror film. However, it is to be championed for being an inconsistently enjoyable low budget horror film with synthesizers that will kick your ass off (among other things). Skip the therapy and watch this instead.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 03.04.10 |
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