When one is a child, many things can be frightening, yet nothing is quite as scary as the boogeyman. In the motion picture The Boogey Man, it is a monster of a different sort that haunts those in the film, one that has come back after many years away and one that is looking to kill.

When this movie starts, it seems to be heading one way until it takes a little swerve and becomes another, namely a ghost story. That is not a bad thing either as this one turns out to be quite chilling at times as Lacey, played by Suzanna Love, becomes haunted by the ghost of the man her brother murdered, coincidentally her mother’s boyfriend. She is only three at the time and sees it all reflected in a mirror. Cut to the present and she is all grown up with a son of her own, living on a farm with her aunt and her mute brother and is a woman who is plagued by nightmares. Her husband wants her to face her fears head-on so she visits her childhood home where she sees the murdered boyfriend in the mirror. She smashes it and by doing so, releases his spirit so that he might start to kill all those around her. From there, things get more intense until a final showdown takes place and she finally gets rid of the cursed mirror and the ghost who inhabits it, at least so she thinks.

Written and directed by Ulli Lommel, the man treads a fine line between the psychological aspects of the film and the bloodletting that eventually takes place. While at first, it might have seemed that it would revolve around Willy played by Nicholas Love as he was the one that killed the boyfriend compounded with the fact that he was essentially tortured as a child before he did the deed, the movie instead focuses upon his sister, Lacey. It would still touch upon Willy during a few moments here and there, such as those where he would see a knife and it would cause him to flashback to that fateful night, but for the most part, Lacey would be front and centre. It would be a good choice as she was the more vulnerable of the two and the fact that she now has a child makes her a prime victim. Lacey’s nightmares are out of control and it is affecting her relationship with her husband and those around her. While she might seem fine to the outside observer, she is breaking down within and so something has to be done. When the mirror is broken and the soul that is trapped inside is set free, it brings all of Lacey’s fears outwards and Lommel paints them red.

There are numerous deaths in the movie, all of them bloody and quite grisly. There are the expected killings, those of young teens which one can find in any horror film but there is also the death of at least one child which is quite shocking, to say the least. Different implements are used throughout the affair to make things interesting and set it apart from the average slasher and one cannot complain about a lack of violence as there was more than enough for two movies. To go along with it, Lommel runs a current of suspense through it all in the form of a mirror piece that is stuck to the shoe of Lacey’s kid. It keeps the audience wondering just how and where the ghost killer will strike next not to mention keeping the movie open for a possible sequel, which did in fact happen.

There are some negatives to be found, things some might not find logical and questions that would arise such as how the soul of the boyfriend ended up in the mirror in the first place and one could go on and on for a spell talking about them. At the end of the day, The Boogey Man was entertaining and had more than enough for any horror fan to enjoy.

3 out of 5