Boogeyman
Screen Gems | Release Date: February 4, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
32
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
6
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
Trendy influence of insidiously creepy Japanese horror pics is felt in almost every frame of Boogeyman. The effectively atmospheric and unusually involving thriller tells the story of a distraught young man's protracted duel of wits with the eponymous evildoer. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Unexpectedly gripping horror movie. Read full review
60
Film ThreatHeidi Martinuzzi
This film does cause shivers, creeps, scares, and jumps. It may even make you scream a bit. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
It suffers from a lack of genuine chills or suspense that renders its slight virtues rather moot. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Director Stephen T. Kay (The Last Time I Committed Suicide) busts off some cool shots, and Eric Kripke's story is pretty sound until the finale. Worth a look for horror fans, but nothing classic. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
An otherwise passable horror film that delivers more than enough cheap thrills to forgive the plot holes. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Has little to offer in the way of entertainment or originality. Read full review
40
EmpireDan Jolin
An opportunity to exploit childhood nocturnal fears is missed in a second-rate horror. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
A film willing to cheat whatever way necessary to scare you... The good news is that once you leave the theatre, you'll never think of Boogeyman again. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
While stylishly filmed and edited, Boogeyman is filled with every imaginable fright cliche... It's like a meal consisting entirely of airy hors d'oeuvres. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This is strictly substandard stuff, with imitative creepy noises, vertiginous camera angles, and long pauses. Read full review
30
The New York TimesAnita Gates
The filmmakers are smart enough to keep the monster out of sight for a long time and then to show only glimpses, but a similar tactic of providing only glimpses of plot and character is disastrous. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Mostly Boogeyman remains content to be a film about a boogeyman who hides in closets and under beds and gobbles people up. And for that, it deserves a certain amount of respect. On the other hand, the film could hardly be any sillier. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
The MPAA's rating explanation for this PG-13-rated snoozer misleadingly claims it contains "intense sequences of terror/violence"; it would be more accurate to state that Boogeyman contains "virtually every horror-movie cliché of the past 30 years." Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
If you can't spell "bogeyman," you shouldn't make movies about him. Read full review
20
Village VoiceJoshua Land
It's difficult to remember a recent movie with less regard for spatial or temporal coherence. With the bar set so low, one wouldn't think the ending could possibly come as a letdown. Believe me, it does. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Even the should-have-been-triumphant revelation of the Boogeyman arrives as a CGI letdown of epic proportions. Read full review
12
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A horror film whose only scare is that it was made at all... As with so many stupid horror movies in these post-''Scream" times, this one is at such a creative loss that all it can do is make its audience feel duped for having purchased a ticket. Read full review
0
PremiereKevin Allison
It’s a waste. Read full review
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