Coverart for the DVD of Boogeyman 2: Unrated Director’s Cut(2008).
© 20th Century Fox

Mania Grade: B
Title: Boogeyman 2: Unrated Director's Cut
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Tobin Bell, Renee O' Connor, Matt Cohen, Danielle Savre
Writer: Brian Sieve
Director: Jeff Betancourt
Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2007
Extras: Two commentary tracks, special effects featurette

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Boogeyman 2: Unrated Director's Cut

Boogeyman 2 is one of those rare sequels that is better than the original film. Granted, that’s not saying much. The original Boogeyman was a rather bland spook-fest about a supernatural Boogeyman that lived in children’s closets. Boogeyman 2 is as different from the original as Halloween 3: Season of the Witch was different from the other entries in that series. Now I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before in one of my DVD reviews and give readers a spoiler alert. I’m doing so because I think it’s necessary to totally separate Boogeyman 2 from its predecessor.

Two children, Henry and younger sister Laura, are traumatized when they see their parents murdered. Ten years later, Henry is leaving a mental hospital, apparently cured of his phobia of the dark and ready to move on with his life. However, his sister is still terrified of the Boogeyman and decides to voluntarily check into the same facility that treated her brother. There she meets a group of patients, all coping with various phobias such as bulimic Nicky who fears gaining weight, germophobe Paul, agoraphobic Darren, and Alison whose condition causes her to cut herself. The group is all under the care of Dr. Allen, played by Saw veteran Tobin Bell, and his assistant Dr. Jessica Ryan. Ryan is played by Renee O’ Connor who is best known for her role As Gabrielle in Xena: Warrior Princess.

Soon after Laura arrives, patients start to die. Laura is convinced that the Boogeyman has followed her to the hospital but Dr. Allen insists it’s there is no Boogeyman and it’s just her fear that she has to face. Boogeyman 2 has only the most tenuous tie to the first film as we learn that the main character was also treated by Dr. Allen. Now, here’s the little spoiler alert and I think astute horror fans will figure this out very early on…

This is not a supernatural tale like the first one but a good ol’ fashioned slasher that is far more effective in its execution than the recent, over-hyped Hatchet.  Director Jeff Betancourt has succeeded in giving fans an 80’s-style slasher film with a young, good looking cast, trapped in a creepy hospital, and stalked by a killer. The kills are gory, yet stylishly conceived and original. Each of the patients meets their end in a way that befits their particular fears.

Danielle Savre is quite good in her performance as Laura. She’s the requisite horror film heroine, terrified yet resourceful enough to stay alive. Tobin Bell only seems to have one expression no matter what role he’s playing but he does bring a certain sinister quality to the film.

The effects and gore are very well done, far better than one would expect from a direct-to-DVD sequel. While this was Betancourt’s first directorial effort, he’s not stranger to horror films, having worked as editor on The Grudge, The Grudge 2, When a Stranger Calls, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  He’s learned his craft well. The scenery was dark, but not so dark that you could not see what was happening onscreen. 

Now, it’s not all perfect. The film stretches the limits of logic quite a bit. We are to believe that this large facility is staffed by only two doctors and one nurse. There’s no security, no maintenance, and the only orderly is fired near the beginning of the film. The doors are controlled through the phone system and when the phones go down, everyone is trapped inside. Somehow I’m thinking that a lack of emergency exits would not be up to building and fire safety codes. So yes, the film does ask the viewer to suspend a bit of belief. If you can do that, this turns out to be one gem of a slasher! 

DVD Extras

The DVD comes with both fullscreen and widescreen versions of the film. There are two commentary tracks: One with the writer and director, and the second with Tobin Bell, Danielle Savre and Producers Steve Hein & Gary Bryman. There is one short featurette on the special effects of the film that runs about five minutes.