Boogeyman – Der schwarze Mann (2005)

Boogeyman – Der schwarze Mann: Directed by Stephen Kay. With Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Tory Mussett. A young man tries to deal with the childhood terror that has never stopped haunting him.

“Letu0026#39;s acknowledge the fact that practically everyone HATES this movie. Yet it had a lot of potential. What went wrong? Producers, film students, TAKE NOTE. Its EVERYTHING BAD in a horror movie, and makes us feel cheated, insulted, and burned. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIts the kind of movie that LOOKS like something weu0026#39;d be interested in. The trailer showed a pretty creepy scene: a slow walk to a front door of a Gothic-style Victorian farmhouse, a scary hand on the door. The stuff of childhood nightmares and imaginings. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdditionally, the movie had a lot going for it — a spooky-as-hell soundtrack, a seriously creepy Gothic farmhouse which even old-house fanatics might shudder at being alone in at night. Small-town stagnation and isolation. Unhelpful country people who just donu0026#39;t like outsiders. The stuff of moody, haunting atmospheres. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut, rather than play on a slow, spooky, dreamlike ambiance the house, the terrors, the memories of the lost dad and his murder/abduction, we get a woosh of distracting angles and wild camera swoops and flashes of light that are neither realistic nor scary. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe eerie soundtrack is constantly interrupted by flashes of light and noise that are supposed to u0026#39;scareu0026#39; but show nothing and only interrupt the brooding atmosphere. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd what is the Boogeyman in this movie, anyway? Balled lightning? An explosion of distorted, computer-animated birds? a malfunctioning transmitted cartoon image of the grim reaper? Hard to tell. Bad computer animation spoils the image. We canu0026#39;t even imagine. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe certainly do NOT see any Boogeyman. Not the guy with the creepy hand on the door in the trailer. If we see anything at all, itu0026#39;s like video game graphics distorted by a glitch in the imagery. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCu0026#39;mon, producers — GIVE US THE BOOGEYMAN. Not videogenic mess.The Boogeyman must be a CHARACTER we can see — preferably something that talks or has some other habit that frightens us. Freddy Krueger, Jeepers Creepers, the Tall Man on Phantasm, Reverend Henry Kane on Poltergeist or the chauffeur on Burnt Offerings who is too thin and tall and has a freaky, inappropriate grin and piercing stare — are Boogeymen. (Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface are perhaps another type of boogyman, but their agenda is less frightening because they exist merely to kill)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRather than being killed or abducted by the boogeyman which we see in the trailer,we instead see people being bounced around the walls of rooms and hallways like rubber balls. Just one impact at this overdone velocity would kill a person instantly, but here, we see people bounce around the walls and get back up, unharmed, to u0026#39;fight.u0026#39; and see victims instantly wrapped in saran rap, etc. On and on it goes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDirectors, producers, please take note. It just doesnu0026#39;t work. Things that move faster than the eye can see are not scary. Cheap computer graphic effects donu0026#39;t work. Loud, startling noises are a cheap substitute for brooding horror or shocking terror, and donu0026#39;t work. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe true u0026#39;Boogeymanu0026#39; archetype that really scares the crap out of us is a slow, menacing presence. We may only get glimpses of him or he may torment us from the closet or under the bed as in Poltergiest, or he may come au0026#39;calling like a traveling salesman or road menace. True Boogeymen must be seen in closets, we see him in the mirror on closet doors, we see him hanging like a scarecrow or hanging from a noose like a kite caught in a tree. They come uninvited to take what they want; they can appear out of nowhere and can seem to disappear just as fast; they usually have personalities and voices that creep us out no matter how many years pass; they are invincible, and they like for you to learn of their invincibility as you try to fight them off. They love to torment and terrorize their victims before killing/abducting/soul eating/dragging them off to hell or whatever they do. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTrue boogeymen may have some weaknesses. In better horror movies and nightmares, they can sometimes temporarily be resisted or staved off by certain psychological or spiritual disciplines, or religious rituals but they cannot really be destroyed. At best, they may leave us to find an easier target, but they usually get what they want.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was not impressed at all with this movie; Iu0026#39;m even more disgusted by the fact that they had a lot of good actors/sets/technologies to work with. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor instance, the character of Franny Roberts (Skye McCole Bartusiak), a mysterious, attractive, but oddly troubled twelvish-year-old girl who seems to know whatu0026#39;s going on, was by far a more interesting character in this film than the u0026#39;Boogeyman.u0026#39; In fact, she was the most interesting character in the movie: weirdly sad, melancholy, yet somewhat a tomboy — like a lost childhood friend we forgot about and kinda miss. Why wasnu0026#39;t she given a bigger role?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd the protagonist Tim (Barry Watson) did a pretty convincing act of being legitimately scared and haunted by a childhood memory. They (Tim and the little girl, Franny) should have been the ones, together, to thwart or vanquish the u0026quot;boogeyman.u0026#39; Not the guy and the ex-crush u0026#39;Kate.u0026#39; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRemember, the boogeyman should be a menacing presence; a collector of souls, a tormentor who plays games with his victims before taking them away. Boogeymen may have vulnerabilities, but cannot really be destroyed. Please, no more computer-animated lightning explosions and MTV to represent the boogeyman.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMost of all, the Boogeyman needs to be a character, and not just be bad graphics a-flashing. The boogeyman needs a voice and creepy antics. He is an abductor of souls, the tormentor of children, he is somewhat invincible but can be driven away, and always takes his helpless victims to a fate worse than hell.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRemember this.”