Review of The Boogens (1981) by Justin H — 15 Jun 2009

You know how in most movies, when the characters are someplace dark, like a cave or an abandoned building, it never really -looks- dark, because of all the added lights on the set? Well, there's a reason for that, because the alternative is something like 60% of the shots in "The Boogens," where you can't see much of ANYTHING. I appreciate the nod towards realism, but it doesn't amount to much if you can't tell what's going on. But even so, if that was the worst of this film's worries, it wouldn't be so bad...sadly, that's far from the case.

Things start out okay, with a montage of newspaper clippings about a mine in turn-of-the-century Colorado that was closed due to "attacks," but then we get introduced to the main characters...and one of them (Roger) starts talking. It's been awhile since I've wished for a character to die quite so much, for being this irritating. The others are better, to varying degrees, but none of them is particularly likable.

So, we've got a bad title (the word "Boogens" is only uttered once during the entire movie, with no real explanation), bad lighting, and bad characters. Are the monsters cool at least? Well, it's hard to say. You don't get to see much of them until about the last ten minutes or so, and even then you don't really SEE them very well. If you put a gun to my head and told me to describe their basic anatomy, I'd be hard-pressed.

Overall, "The Boogens" is a rather sub-par, run of the mill monster flick. Not the worst I've seen by far, but far from a truly enjoyable film, even with the MST3K treatment. If I had to say one good thing about it, it's that the dog seemed pretty well-trained.