The Bogey Man - Uncut [DVD] [1980]

It's not often that I totally pan a film for being so rubbish, as I always view film with an open mind. I did this with Peter Jackson's BAD TASTE, hating it at first, but then having it grow on me. THE BOOGEYMAN is an exception. OK, the video nasties have to be given some leniency when it comes to noting that they are not very intelligent (think ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, EVIL DEAD), and you can forgive the films for this because of their notoriety and the fact that you have seen something that not many other British people have (thank the BBFC for that one). But this film insults the intelligence of even the dimmest of people.

The story revlves around an evil spirit trapped in a mirror, a mirror that witnessed the murder of a woman and her lover. This mirror is taken to a lakeside house, where it is smashed. A piece of the mirror gets lodged to the bottom of a woman's shoe. This is where the mayhem begins.

This woman visits the house in which the original murders take place, and of course, the people living there die because of the glass stuck in the shoe. In another atrocious scene, the woman is sitting on a small pier out on the lake, and the light from the sun reflects off the glass of her shoe onto some teenage holiday makers across the lake, who have no connection to the storyline whatsoever. Cue the slowly flying knife offing the teenagers one by one.

The acting is terrible, the plot stinks and it's not really video nasty material, considering the competition it's up against. Avoid this trash at all costs.

Low budget featuring a cast of largley unknown actors under the direction of Ulli Lommel the pace ranges from slow to stop. The film suffers from a lack of atmosphere, dire acting, poor camerawork (Did nobody notice that in every scene featuring the only known actor, John Carradine, that the boom was in shot?)and a few not-so-special effects.

Gore fans, don't be fooled by the 'BANNED SINCE 1982' tag-line or the fact that this movie is uncut. Since the bloodbath as promised on the sleeve fails to materialise one can only assume that some kind censor was attempting to spare us the agony of subjecting ourselves to this total trash.

The DVD version of 'The Bogey Man' has little in the way of worthwhile extras. A picture gallery and promotional trailers (for films other then The Bogey Man!)hardly warrents the difference in price between this and the video version.

As a dedicated horror fan I can usually find something positive in any movie of the genre. Unfortunately this truly dreadful film has only one re-deeming feature - it's a relatively short piece and so I haven't wasted too much of my life on it!