The Boogey Man (1980)

Through the reflection in the mirror, a girl witnesses her mother's boyfriend's murder.

Director:

Ulli Lommel

Writers:

Ulli Lommel (screenplay), Suzanna Love (screenplay),

Stars:

Suzanna Love, Ron James, John Carradine

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Suzanna Love	...	Lacey
Ron James	...	Jake
John Carradine	...	Dr. Warren
Nicholas Love	...	Willy
Raymond Boyden	...	Kevin
Felicite Morgan	...	Aunt Helen
Bill Rayburn	...	Uncle Ernest
Llewelyn Thomas	...	Father Reilly
Jay Wright	...	Young Willy
Natasha Schiano	...	Young Lacey
Gillian Gordon	...	Lacey and Willy's Mother
Howard Grant	...	The Lover
Jane Pratt	...	Jane
Lucinda Ziesing	...	Susan
David Swim	...	Timmy

Storyline

A young girl witnesses her brother murder a man through a reflection in a mirror. Twenty years later the mirror is shattered, freeing his evil spirit, which seeks revenge for his death.

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Plot Keywords:

mirror | murder | reflection | evil | death | 

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Taglines:

The most terrifying nightmare of childhood is about to return!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Boogeyman - Djävulsspegeln

Filming Locations:

Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Gross Organization, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 85 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Suzanne Love is the real-life sister of co-star Nicholas Love, who plays her brother in the film, as well as (then) wife of director Ulli Lommel. She and Lommel co-authored the screenplay for this film.

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Goofs

When Lacey and Kevin are at the lake and Kevin says, "Mommy, mommy, I caught a fish, I caught a fish!" He is shouting, yet it is clearly Lacey doing the reeling in - you can see her shirtsleeves and it is a female adults arms and hands. Even more obviously, little Kevin is wearing a long-sleeved jacket.

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Quotes

Dr. Warren: Your mother, did she date other men?

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Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Baby Go Bye Bye"
Written by Jeff Severson
Performed by 4 Out of 5 Doctors (as Four Out of Five Doctors)
Courtesy of Nemperor Records

User Reviews

Nightmare...don't think so.

More like a languid summer day dream. Boring story, limp film making, bad acting...just not much to brag about here.

A young girl witnesses a murder and gets traumatized and her brother goes nuts and an evil spirit has possessed a mirror and...ah who cares? Most viewers won't even finish it anyways.

Cheap production values do nothing to help a story in dire need of an interesting event...any interesting event. Nothing about the script is put together well; from the dialogue to the plot "twists" it is all amateur stuff.

Acting is on par with the script (ie: it sucks). It is clear why none of these thespians ever moved onto bigger better things. The only noteworthy player is the lead actress, who while not even remotely a good actor is at least quite attractive.

The only positive element in the film (or the opposite if you are a moralist) are the murder scenes. Cheesy though they may be, they are packed with plenty of running crimson and have an unpleasant kind of sadism to them, even including some pointless sexual tones.

What we have here is a bad film that gained notoriety by being black listed in England as a video nasty and would have (should have) disappeared long ago if moral purists would have just left it alone.

4/10