By JOEL HARLEY
Starring Tim Coyle, Elissa Dowling, Khail Duggan
Written and Directed by Calvin Morie McCarthy, Tim Coyle, Josh Dietrich, Kai Pacifico Eng, Chynna Rae Shurts
Breaking Glass Pictures
Wearing the influence of the 1972 portmanteau horror film Asylum on its sleeve (along with the Boogeyman-starring Stephen King book one character flips through, mid-scene) this lunatic asylum-set scare ‘em up tells the stories of five criminally insane individuals, each tormented by a terrifying figure lurking in their tormented psyches. Enter (and beware) The Boogeyman.
Hoping to start work at a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, young Doctor Tristan Mackenzie (Elissa Dowling) is welcomed to the institution by the luminary Doctor Moon (Airisa Durand, of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and Amityville Poltergeist fame). As Moon sits the newbie down for her introduction, she shares the case files of five patients who share the same insidious delusion… The Boogeyman.
This portmanteau horror film explores these five stories, with conversations between Doctors Mackenzie and Moon forming its framing device. Helming the wraparound, writer and director Calvin Morie also handles its first segment – which tells of a woman (Chynna Rae Shurts) and a one-night stand gone wrong. More so than the framing device, this Argento-inspired effort sets the table for what is to come, again and again, and again (and again!) – wooden performances, lots of talking and The Boogeyman popping up at the end. At the same time, it’s also the film’s most visually appealing outing, with more atmospheric lighting than most, and even an animated interlude in a story about two kids and a dead dog.
Next up is Josh Dietrich’s tale of a tormented artist who encounters The Boogeyman while working on her latest painting. But who has been interfering with her work? Has Olivia (Nicolette Pullen) been working in a fugue state, or is The Boogeyman dabbling in a spot of painting?
Directed by Kai Pacifico Eng, the third story tells of two brothers (Khail Duggan and James Luster) bonded by the sudden and unexpected disposal of a body when they encounter… yes, you guessed it, The Boogeyman. It’s the most interminable of the five constituent parts, dragging on more than the others, but features some of its strongest acting and the least predictable storytelling of the bunch.
The fourth segment shakes things up a little, in that it’s about a man actively looking for The Boogeyman. Directed by Tim Coyle, this one follows a man (Steve Larkin) and his new assistant (Jax Kellington) as they attempt to find proof of The Boogeyman’s existence. As a parody of ghost hunting shows, it’s a nice change of pace from three back-to-back stories of tormented, Lovecraftian protagonists, but still follows the same formula as the first three tales.
Written and directed by star Shynna Rae Shurts, the fifth and final case file follows a man (a scenery-chewing Calvin Morie McCarthy) who moves back in with his mother following a stint in rehab, and encounters you-know-who during a particularly grim relapse which finds him drinking hand sanitizer and doing crack.
All linked by the presence of The Boogeyman, this anthology shares an aesthetic in the shoestring budget and murky cinematography. There is some variation in the tone, with parts three and four going more overtly humorous than some of the others. However, all five stories follow the same basic template, with a troubled figure seeing (or being visited by) The Boogeyman and finding themselves locked away in the same asylum. At almost two hours, the repetitive structure quickly wears out its welcome – and could easily have lost at least one of the less inspiring efforts.
Unfortunately, working on the lower end of the budget spectrum means that most of The Boogeyman’s antics are fairly unimpressive, featuring silly creature design and repetition – it’s always just The Boogeyman appearing from a closet/basement hatch/foggy doorway to loom over whoever, before the film cuts to said character sitting, grinning maniacally, in a padded cell.
BEWARE THE BOOGEYMAN is an good-natured attempt at resurrecting the portmanteau horror film, but good intentions are sadly undermined by low budget and lack of variety. ‘It’s a mixed bag’ goes the common complaint when it comes to anthology horror films but, in this case, it’s more consistent than most. If you liked one, you’ll probably like them all. If you didn’t… beware.
BEWARE THE BOOGEYMAN was digitally released on March 5, 2024.
