Boogeyman: Special Edition

A combination of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Grudge, director Stephen T. Kay's rushed-into-theaters-without-critics'-previews Boogeyman revolves around a young boy named Tim, traumatized by the sight of his father being dragged off by the monster inhabiting his bedroom closet, who returns to the deserted family house as an adult (now played by 7th Heaven's Barry Watson) to overcome his childhood fears. Not surprisingly, the dreaded boogeyman reappears, threatening not only the troubled hero but also his fiancée, and a local tomboy (inevitably, the girl Tim left behind long ago). The filmmakers work hard to try to create a spooky atmosphere and generate sudden shocks, hoping to construct a sort of cinematic haunted-house ride with psychobabble underpinnings, but while less gory than similar fare, Boogeyman is ultimately an incoherent grab bag of disconnected effects, a stylishly mounted but hollow exercise. Trivia note: ex-Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless appears as Tim's mom (although if you blink you might miss her). Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a few understandably deleted scenes and an alternate ending, a “making of” featurette, some quasi-animated storyboards, and brief snippets about how certain effects scenes were assembled. Bottom line: a paltry extras package for a so-called "special edition" of an undistinguished film.] (F. Swietek)