Have you seen the first "Boogeyman" movie? I have. It was one of those movies that you watch once and don't really ever think about again. However, I liked the idea behind it and I'm a big fan of supernatural horror movies so, when I heard there was a "Boogeyman 2" I thought I'd check it out.
This is not the movie I expected. In fact, I feel quite deceived. More on that later.
After a quite tense opening sequence where Laura (Renee O'Connor) first encounters the Boogeyman as a child, the movie moves onto the main storyline. Whereas the first movie was a man confronting his childhood demons in his family home, this movie is set in hospital where the main character also attempts to overcome her childhood fears. As well as finding herself in the worst staffed hospital of all time, one of Laura's doctors is none other than Jigsaw himself (the wonderful Tobin Bell, who is as creepy here as in the "Saw" movies). Things aren't looking good for her.
Once each of her fellow patients has revealed their fears in various non-too-subtle ways ("I'm not changing the light in your closet because I'M SCARED OF THE DARK!" "I'm not shaking your hand because I'M SCARED OF GERMS!" etc), they all begin to be killed by the evil Boogeyman who (surprise...surprise) uses their fears against them. I actually quite liked some of the deaths here which were suitably graphic and disturbing - I'm sure a lot of ketchup must have been used in the making of this movie.
However, I ultimately felt deceived by "Boogeyman 2".
The makers actually trick you in a very naughty way - kinda like going to watch a "Nightmare On Elm Street" sequel only to discover that Freddie is no longer the evil spirit of a child murderer but is now an evil robot from the future. You'd say "Huh? This isn't anything like the first movie. I wanted to see a supernatural horror movie, not another Terminator clone!". You'll see exactly what I mean if you've seen "Boogeyman" and then watch "Boogeyman 2" (unfortunately, I can't be any more specific as it would be a spoiler). In fact, "Boogeyman 2" has so little to do with the first "Boogeyman" that I'm surprised they even share the same name. It also features one completely unnecessary scene of graphic nudity - whether this is a good thing or not depends upon whether you're still in high school. I left high school a while ago and found myself wondering why the scene needed to exist at all. Oh well.
In summary then, this is a very average little horror movie. I can't say I was particularly scared by any of it but it was nicely acted and had some cool death scenes (some of which reminded me a little bit of "Saw" if truth be told - no wonder Tobin Bell turned up!).
If you like watching teens running around dark corridors before losing their vital organs (and your DVD collection consists of movies such as "Halloween: Resurrection" and "Jason X"), then it's probably worth a rental. However, if you really enjoyed the first movie and want more of the same (or, like me, you're just looking for a good supernatural horror movie), I'm willing to bet that you'll be disappointed with "Boogeyman 2".
