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Movie Review by The Cryptkeeper
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10.13.09
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In an effort to overcome a debilitating phobia of the boogeyman, Laura (Danielle Savre) checks herself into a mental institution, where she seeks treatment under the watchful eye of Dr. Mitchell Allen (Tobin Bell). But, try as she might to escape the haunting memory of her parents' bloody murder at the hands of the boogeyman himself, Laura remains a prisoner of her own mind. Her greatest fears come true when the titular demon comes calling. -netflix
Ok, let me spoil this for everyone right away... there isn't really a Boogeyman in this direct to video sequel. As a matter of fact, the only real connection to the first movie in the series (which actually had a Boogeyman), other than the one scene that tries to tie them together, is the face your fears mantra. Pretty much the entire movie takes place in a mental hospital with a killer taking out the crazies one by one. Speaking of Nightmare on Elm Street 3... wait, wrong movie.
I am sure you have heard me say this before... but until the madness stops... here goes. The shaky camerawork was way overused... likely to make up for lack of real filmmaking skills. What other good reason would there be to sway the camera around so? Shaking the camera around like a retarded monkey with Parkinson's Disease does not make a movie scary or interesting. It doesn't make it artsy and using this method doesn't add anything positive. Get a tripod, hire some grips... hell, get some damn suction cups and stick it to an old refrigerator... I don't really care. Just hold the camera still for a while. I can't wait until all of the hacks that use the crutch are disposed of.
Now that I have launched into that tirade, I can continue with my review. The whole story in this so-called sequel was pretty lame, but the acting was decent so they managed to pull it off somehow. Most of the actors seemed straight out of one of those teen shows on the WB, but they did manage to snag a few notable faces. One was Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess (Renee O'Connor) and the other being the Jigsaw Killer from the Saw movies (Tobin Bell). He probably added the most to this film from a thespian standpoint... but was probably just thrown in to get the Saw fans excited. And was that Ozzy's daughter I saw in the movie? Probably just a girl with the same bad haircut. Maybe I am just hoping it was her and that she will be the victim of a crazed killer.
The effects were also pretty good, not relying on CGI but going a bit old-school with regular effects. The kills were pretty bloody, some even bordering on disgusting. They certainly borrowed some elements from other films, but at least they borrowed some good items here and there. For us old perverts, there was also a bit of nudity thrown in, and in a pretty interesting way... two teens having sex while one girl rips herself apart to get maggots out in a montage kindof thing. Sounds like the night I had last weekend.
The story wasn't great, but it seemed to move along fairly well. Kindof like a rapid flow of shit down a sewage canal. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad... but I wanted to use that simile... so there. The ending had a twist of sorts, but it wasn't very logical... but based on the rest of the film, I am not surprised. Also, and maybe it was just me, but it seemed the killer was a huge man, then the mask comes off to reveal the killer and it is a regular sized person. So removing the mask takes 2 feet off of the height and about 150 pounds off of the weight of the killer? Maybe I am just seeing things. Likely more side effects from that weekend I spoke of earlier.
At any rate, this movie is not quite as bad as I probably made it out to be. It is not a great flick, but certainly not the worst direct to video sequel known to man. It has a small entertainment quality, especially for the gore hounds out there. If you feel like one of those teen slasher type movies, and have some Dramamine by your side... then give this one a rental when it goes into the cheapie bin.
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Rating: 6.3 out of 10.0 - 4 votes cast total
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