August 8, 2014

SUMMER OF BLOOD, Day 69: Boogeyman 3 (2008)

Directed by Gary Jones. Starring Erin Cahill ("Sarah"), Chuck Hittinger ("David"), Mimi Michaels ("Lindsey"), and Matt Rippy ("Kane"). Not Rated.

Source: Region 1 DVD (Sony)
Running time: 01:34:01
Country: USA

 PHOTO BOMB LOL!

A young woman named Audrey is mourning the recent death of her father and going through the grieving process when the third and final installment of the BOOGEYMAN series begins. Her father, as it turns out, was a character in the previous movie, making this (sort of) a direct sequel rather than name-only. Audrey is seemingly being set up as the lead character, but it ends up not being the case. It's not to say that she's written out of the movie entirely, but the focus shifts towards a college student named Sarah, who hosts an advice-based talk show on college radio and is studying to be a psychologist. She just so happens to be friends with Audrey, as well as a character played by cute-ass Mimi Michaels, who was in CHROMESKULL. Michaels is just as adorable here. And less blind.


Whoops. Before I got side-tracked by my adoration for Mimi Michaels (despite the fact her name is "Mimi"), I was talking about Sarah, as well as Audrey being the link to the previous BOOGEYMAN movie. Well, Audrey turns up on Sarah's campus and seeks her out, paranoid and claiming the "Boogeyman" is after her. It should be said that the Boogeyman has changed with each movie, going from a paranormal entity to a crazed killer in a mask. BOOGEYMAN 3 ends up reverting back to the paranormal, but it's set up as a campus slasher once the two leading ladies and all of their friends are introduced, making it a combination of both of the previous films. Basically, the Boogeyman has indeed followed Audrey to the campus and proceeds to wreak havoc on the people close to her, with Sarah seemingly being the one person who can stop it.


This essentially turns into a rehash of BOOGEYMAN 2, in that there's a group of young people being preyed on by some variation of the mythical Boogeyman and subsequently picked off in ways that one could describe as "gruesome". But whereas the previous film was just a straight-up slasher, this one is once again rooted in the paranormal and supernatural, as I mentioned earlier. But really, you could take the Boogeyman out of the equation and replace it with a killer from another slasher movie and there wouldn't be much of a difference because of how formulaic it is. For example, if you threw in a meta character and put a cheap Halloween mask over the Boogeyman's face, it could be a SCREAM movie.

Speaking of resembling other movies, BOOGEYMAN 3 has some strong similarities to some of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films, which isn't too far-fetched considering Freddy Krueger is essentially a boogeyman who's steeped in urban legend and preys on unsuspecting people. Like the ELM STREET movies, the "reality" in his film is clouded by the fear and paranoia of the characters, so the lines between a nightmare world and reality are blurred on a constant basis. This movie also utilizes the concept of how evil can only manifest if people believe in it, similar to Freddy Krueger to a certain extent. Krueger gained strength and power through how relevant he was, and such is the case with the Boogeyman in this movie, which actually leads to a somewhat interesting twist/pay-off in the back end of the film.


BOOGEYMAN 3 has some really cool moments but it's also quite dull in spots. And there's also the fact that the Boogeyman looks silly, resembling a life-sized prop at a second-rate Haunted House. It should also be said that there's a lot of gore in this movie, but it's all presented in an absurd slasher movie context as opposed to the second one, which had some legitimately cringe-worthy moments. That said, though, if you like silly and over-the-top kills in slasher movies, BOOGEYMAN 3 might be up your alley. Otherwise, there isn't really anything of note about this one. For what it's worth, you could watch this as a standalone movie if you're interested in checking it out.

Score: 5.5

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