Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation

I was actually quite pleased to receive this DVD for Christmas. I had seen this one in the store and had desired to purchase it but for one reason or another passed on it. And to be quite honest I am glad I didn't pay for this myself. As much of a horror fan that I am, I was pleased with some of the elements of this compilation but on the whole I would have to say that there are more disappointments that triumphs in this project.

The DVD includes some excellent features such as Robert Englund providing some very insightful commentary concerning behind the scenes production notes. One rather interesting tidbit that I learned was upside down set that was manufactured for the famous scene in Nightmare On Elm Street where Rod watches Freddy slice Tina open and she is dragged to the ceiling and then dropped( the same effect was used when Glen was pulled down into his bed and blood sprays onto the ceiling. This is told to us by Wes Craven in the Nightmare On Elm Street Platinum series on DVD, an excellent purchase), spraying blood all over Rod. Another interesting and informative piece was when Englund began explaining the problems that Freddy VS. Jason was having coming to fruition.

So I guess what it comes down to is that if you have seen the DVD version of this, then it is somewhat worth the money that you are spending. But the VHS version does not contain Englund's commentary nor does it have some of the other extras. Therefore it may not be worth buying. Other problems I have with the compilation is some of the clips they chose. While there are excellent scenes involving Pinhead and Andy Robinson from Hellraiser, Leatherface and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Englund's own Nightmare On Elm Street and even some of Carpenter's Halloween, the video really drops the ball on films like Friday the 13th and Scream. I could think of perhaps 2 dozen scenes from the first four Fridays that were more worthy that the one they chose from the Final Friday, Jason Goes To Hell. For example, how about Teddy getting nailed with a corkscrew in the hand and then a machete to the face in the Final Chapter? Or how about again in the Final Chapter when Tommy ( and a huge assist to Rick Baker and Tom Savini ) whacks Jason with a machete to the side of the head and he falls face first into that machete, destroying his mug for future sequels? There is also the guy walking on his hands in part Three, the harpoon to the eye in part Three, hangings in part Two and of course the Mrs. Voorhees beheading in Part One. There was all of these pernicious and fatal acts to choose from and they chose what they did from the last and perhaps worst Friday? They didn't even show Jason dying. And that is a shame. As for some of the other films, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I Know.... and The Leprechaun and Candyman should be included in this compilation. How about An American Werewolf In London, or some of the other classic cheese films from the 70's and 80's like The Beast Within, Last House on the Left, The Mutilator, The Prey or The Town That Dreaded Sundown. All of these films offered some realistic and disgusting gore and yet they were ignored. Why?

Boogeymen is a treat to watch for some of the insight offered by Englund and because of some of the scenes for some of the movies, but on a whole it is quite a disappointment. And that is frustrating because there is a plethora of clips they could have included.

6 out of 10

I thought this was great. The scenes were gory, memorable, perfect. And the whole soundtrack was awesome as well. Here are my favorite scenes in order...

1. Halloween 2. Nightmare on Elm Street 3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4. Psycho 5. Hellraiser 6. Wishmaster 7. The Ugly 8. Puppetmaster 9. Phantasm 10. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday 11. The Dentist 12. I Know What You Did Last Summer 13. Child's Play 2 14. Scream 15. Candyman 16. The Guardian 17. Leprechan

My only advice? Avoid "Leprechan", but definately check out the Top 10 on the list.

Almost perfect, could of gotten rid of some boogeymen (*cough* Camilia and Leprechan! *cough*) but great.

8/10

This compilation of the 'rogues gallery' of modern day movie monsters could have been better. Of course you've got the Big 4 (Freddy, Jason, Michael, and Leatherface) along with those of well-deserved honorable mention (Candyman, Chucky, Pinhead, and the Tall Man). As far as the Guardian, 'Ghostface', Fisherman and the others goes, they should've been left out. Why you ask? They're not considered cult classics to me. They're not in the same league with old school horror favorites.

You mean to tell me that the producers and writers forgot about Pazuzu the demon from 'The Exorcist', Damien from 'The Omen', and the demon from 'The Evil Dead'? Also, they could've chosen a much better Jason Voorhees moment (of which there are many) instead of JGTH, which is his worst.

Hope those guys do better with a sequel if they decide to do so.

At only an hour, this isn't the best compilation DVD they could possibly come up with, but I liked it a lot. I've been a little out of touch with horror movies recently, so it was nice to watch clips from all these famous horror movies to get me back on the ball. There are some very gruesome clips, some are downright sickening, but that's the fun of it. I loved the Robert Englund commentary--he had some very interesting things to say, and seemed to be at least somewhat oriented with every horror director, writer and actor featured. Plus, he has a fine sense of humor. The easter egg was really nice. I haven't seen "Jack Frost," and am only familiar with it through the trailer. It seems like a really cheesy flick, but boy does that babe look great naked. You can't have a cheesy horror flick without a lil' bit of gratuitous nudity, that's my motto. My impression after the clips were over was, "That's it?" But hopefully, they'll sooner or later come up with a "Boogeymen 2" DVD. If they do, I really look forward to it. And I love the song "I'm Your Boogeyman" by Rob Zombie (back then, White Zombie), which was featured in the opening and closing credits. Horror fans will probably love it. Others will be genuinely disgusted and will probably wanna stay away. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

I mean, over all, they really can't go wrong with some of the classic horror movies: Halloween, Hellraiser, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Psycho. But they didn't show the best clips and some movies, you were either "I didn't see that" or "Huh, why did they put that in there?" They also missed some great classic horror movies, such as Jaws, The Exorcist, and Silence of the Lambs. I know that those aren't considered in some ways to be Boogeymen, but I think this was more of a tribute to horror movies. Also, they showed the worst clip of the Friday the 13th series, I thought they should have shown the 6th one where Jason slams the person in a sleeping bag against a tree, that was classic and terrifying.

This wasn't too bad, but I mean, who really had heard of "The Guardian", "The Ugly", and not too many knew about "The Dentist". If you want to see this, I'd recommend the DVD, it has great commentary by Freddy Krueger, or as true horror fans know him as Robert Englund. It has trivia and trailers, and is must see for horror fans.

6/10