The Bye Bye Man

“Don't think it! Don't say it!” This is the cautionary phrase that propels The Bye Bye Man, a tiresome, tepid horror-thriller, based on an urban legend. During the 1969-set prologue, deranged Larry Redmon (Leigh Whannel) goes on a shooting rampage, killing eight neighbors and himself. Cut to the present, as three University of Wisconsin students—nerdy Elliot (Douglas Smith), his sexy girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas), and a jock named John (Lucien Laviscount)—rent a large, decrepit house in rural Madison. Elliot discovers mysterious inscriptions inside his bedside table—a repeated warning that reads: “Don't think it. Don't say it.” And the scrawled words, “Bye Bye Man.” No one knows what this means, but during a housewarming party Sasha's psychic friend Kim (Jenna Kanell) conducts a séance that reveals a malevolent, supernatural presence. And then Elliot glimpses a ghastly, ghostly, hooded figure (Doug Jones). Adapting Robert Damon Schneck's 2005 short story The Bridge to Body Island, screenwriter Jonathan Penner and his wife, director Stacy Title, go with the evil boogeyman curse concept instead of developing an intriguing backstory, relying on predictable jump-scares and not-so-subtle misdirection. Also featuring Faye Dunaway as Redmon's aged widow and Carrie-Anne Moss as a suspicious police detective, this is not recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include both the theatrical and unrated versions, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a forgettable horror flick.] (S. Granger)