[Boogeyman 3]
Plot:Sequel to "Boogeyman" and "Boogeyman 2"...tells the story of an evil that every culture has tried to define by giving it a name and a face. For college sophomore Sarah Morris, that evil is the Boogeyman. When Sarah witnesses the alleged suicide of her roommate, it sets off a supernatural chain reaction. As she tries to convince the rest of her dorm that the Boogeyman does exist, the evil force grows stronger and her friends pay the price. Now Sarah must stop this ultimate evil before the entire campus falls prey.

Cast:W.B. Alexander, Erin Cahill, Elyes Gabel, Chuck Hittinger, Kate Maberly, George Maguire, Mimi Michaels, Matt Rippy, Nikki Sanderson, Jayne Wisener, George Yanakiev.

My Thoughts:Surprisingly good.

Review:After "Boogeyman" 2005, I had serious reservations about "Boogeyman 2", which was released to DVD last year. But while not all together perfect, that film turned out to be not too bad. Now we have "Boogeyman 3", which hits DVD this month. Why? Not sure, maybe Sony still thinks the "Boogeyman" series is profitable. Maybe it is, maybe the title "Boogeyman" just piques peoples curiosity so much that they just have to rent or buy any movie labeled with said title. Or maybe since "The Grudge" has two sequels, Sony figured "Boogeyman" needed to be a trilogy too.

At any rate, the third chapter follows a girl named Sarah, who is a college student at a University in Northern California. When her friend Audrey shows up, ranting about the boogeyman trying to kill her, she tries to console her. A moot point of course, considering Audrey winds up being claimed by the darkness-dwelling demon, and is never heard from again. Sarah though, sees the boogeyman kill Audrey, and thus she begins to believe what Audrey was telling ehr from the get go. This proves to be a perilous decision because now Sarah, and her friends become the targets of the boogeyman.

And if Sarah can't stop him before he wipes them all out, then it's prety much curtains for her and them. "Boogeyman 3" presents a much deeper (if you can believe that), and much more stable story than parts one or two did. One had editing issues which disjointed the story, while two got far too "twisty" at the end, and left issues unresolved. The third film does share connections with part two through a diary of writings from Tobin Bell's character, but it also moves the story back to the supernatural from the slasher elements that part two delved into.

Which is a welcome relief because if I had to watch another 90 minutes of someone stalking teens in a boogeyman outfit, I'd scream. Part three really captures the essence of what the boogeyman is though, which is why it works so well. It has all the usual staples of the series such as dark rooms, closets, staircases, etc. And the boogeyman lurks in all of these places, attacking as a phantom who disappears, and reappears at will when trying to claim his victims. He also sports the usual snarls, and growls, and of course the tattered cape and rags get up.

This is probably the only film of the series, which really puts the boogeyman at the forefront of what's taking place, and makes the character actually a bit creepy to the viewer. Not to mention that "boogey' gets messy in this film, spilling gallons of blood among other dastardly deeds. However with the positive, also comes alot of negative...which eventually dwindles "Boogeyman 3" down to a fair-borderline good movie. The teens are once again, one-dimensional, and borderline stereotypical. We have the stoners, the gamers, and the one British kid with a heavy accent.

The girls are idiots who eventually end up as fodder for "boogey", and there's that one guy who tries to convince Sarah that she's just seeing things, at the same time he's crushing on her. But knows it won't work because Sarah is a kook who believes in the boogeyman. It doesn't get anymore stereotypical, cliche, and typical than that. And of course these kids all end up doing themselves in by investigating the strange noises in the closet, or in the dark, or just not hauling ass fast enough when trying to escape a room where the boogeyman might be lurking.

Things like this annoy me to no end. But speaking of ends, "Boogeyman 3" has a great one. Which is one of my favorite things, a film which finishes strong. "Boogeyman 3" has a very strong finish which involves a pretty clever and sinister plot twist involving "boogey"s motives, the fate of the students on campus, a very awesome scene in the laundry room, and ultimately Sarah's fate at the very end. "Boogeyman 3" isn't a great movie by any means, it's character development is severely flawed...but it's better than films 1 and 2 of this series.

And as an overall supernatural horror movie which takes on the urban legend of the boogeyman who lives in the closet, and other dark recesses...it's a mostly entertaining 90 minute ride, with an awesome musical score to boot.

Positives:The boogeyman is at the forefront of events, which is a plus. The musical score is great, good deaths, lots of blood, a few cool twists near the end, and an overall good crafting of the look and feel of the movie.

Negatives:The characters are one dimensional, flawed, and cliche. They're also not very smart.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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