Critic's Grade: D

Frank film tip: Don't let the BOOGEYMAN get hold of you--he'll bore you to death in Stephen T. Kay's traumatic tripe of a thriller.

What can you say about basing a psychological spookfest on the exploitation of childhood fears? Inherently, there's solid potential for cultivating some serious goosebumps from this notion of facing your past torment as a disillusioned young adult. Well, director Stephen T. Kay (Get Carter) tries to push the ghoulish gumption of revisiting our creepy kiddie turmoil in the generic chiller Boogeyman. Despite Kay's halfway decent stylistic gloomy flourishes that lends an occasional somber ambience, Boogeyman has all the genuine scare factor of a tattooed Casper the Friendly Ghost sticking up his middle finger at an angered crossing guard. Sluggishly paced and drenched in the all-too-familiar cliched skin of conventional and recycled spook spectacles, Boogeyman plods along uneventfully without securing an appetizing buildup to an otherwise cockeyed climax.

Terrorized ten year-old tyke Timmy Jensen has a tough time coping with darkness and the thought that the big and bad Boogeyman lurks ominously in his blackened closet. As a way of trying to calm this kid down and reassuring him that nothing is wrong in general, Timmy's father inspects the closet as usual to show his son that his constant fright is not justified. However, a spontaneous mighty force practically swallows the man into the unassuming closet thus marking the immediate disappearance of Timmy's periled Papa. Of course Timmy witnesses this ugly episode and is even more compounded by his haunting realization that the troublesome Boogeyman does exist and as a caustic result claimed his victimized father as sure-fire proof.

Forward to fifteen years later where Tim (Barry Watson) is still disoriented by the mental effect of his vague encounter with the Boogeyman years earlier. As an adult, Tim cannot bring himself to escape the lingering discomfort regarding closets and other upsetting reminders that may conjure up his childish phobias from yesteryear. Tim realizes that he has to move on and abandon his unresolved inner conflicts. Shortly after his mother's death, Tim decides to conquer his reservations about the nerve-racking childhood home that is responsible for his on-going panicky mode. Thus, he contemplates returning to the scene of the crime and spends one night in the venue that left so many unpleasant memories.

The remaining question: will Tim's hasty return to his hindered home be a therapeutic impulse in confronting the domestic demons that plagues his fragile psyche? Better yet, will he uncover the sordid story behind the story pertaining to his father's mysterious absence? Was this the warped work of the bombastic Boogeyman or did Tim's father find a clever and creative way to leave his family by bailing out on them?

For the most part, Kay focuses his camera on the jittery aspects of shocking the audience with trivial tension-filled tics meant to make us falsely twitch at a moment's notice. Boogeyman is one of those exceedingly distracting frightfests that insists on teasing moviegoers in a run-of-the-mill gimmicky fashion. With its penchant for drumming up its prolonged macabre momentum with suggestive surges of polished trickery, Kay's numbing narrative is just another clueless nail-biter that aimlessly taunts more than it titillates with resounding thrills. Instead of concentrating on needless close-ups of creaky closet doors and dark spaces under beds, Kay should have at least bothered to paint an interesting stark picture concerning the neglected character development. Boogeyman is not only blatantly atmospheric but in most cases monotonously derivative in its inert presentation.

Overall, the premise is rather intriguing in that the filmmakers set out to explore that everlasting inadequate feeling about the mystique behind the infamous root of our inexplicable fears. The concept of a darkened closet is the appropriate symbolism for being afraid of the unknown and not knowing what to expect as one blindly proceeds. It's a terrific and cynical sentiment for a horror vehicle to sink its rabid teeth into with gusto. But Kay's lackluster direction never materializes properly and fails to venture beyond this given belief. The movie settles into one train of thought without having the capability of further developing this dragging claustrophobic caper. The flick feebly hints at formulating its tactical suspense flash but ultimately gives way to the overwrought assemblage of a cliche-driven moody tale of pointless paranoia.

Somehow having puppy dog-eyed heartthrob Watson (formerly from WB-TV's 7th Heaven) headline this callow creeper doesn't instill a lot of credibility. Sure, Watson and his fellow eye candy co-stars are typical of the ideal youthful good-looking targets that foolishly get into harm's way just to heighten the preposterous drama that make up these slight fright-filled farces. As Tim, Watson is sometimes convincing as the scarred grown-up trying to overcome his emotional hurdles. When peeking around corners and grimacing at dark spots, Watson is quite effective given the middling material he has to work with off the cuff. But at other times, Watson comes off as bored and indifferent to the reactionary riffs that the movie conjures up so mechanically.

The supporting players do what they can to spice things up as the potential bait for the Boogeyman's clammy clutches. On board for the slaughtering session is Tim's cutie pie girlfriend (Tory Mussett) as well as his ex sweetie (Emily Deschanel) who pops out of nowhere. And the obligatory lost little girl (Skye McCole Bartusiak from The Patriot) is the unlikely savior that forms a combative collaboration with Tim to tussle with the bothersome Boogeyman. The stage door is set for these guinea pigs to line up and stupidly become the experimentation for the nightmarish nuisance to wreak havoc at will. Unfortunately, the sketchy scares are unforgivably disconnected and telegraphed a mile away. In the long run nobody (with the exception a few 13 year-old fanboys) will be fooled by the helium-induced hysterics of Boogeyman.

If you want to expose the skeletons in Boogeyman's closet then go right ahead--you will certainly come across the bare bones because there's no real meat to this thrill-seeking thud.

Frank rates this film: * and a half stars (out of 4 stars)

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