Knowing that this movie was also known as "Boogeyman 2" I went right on ahead and got a copy of "Boogeyman 2". Except, when that movie started, the on screen title was "Boogeyman 2: Redux"...
This was enough to make me pause and launch into research mode: it seems that in 2002, Co-Director / co-writer Ulli Lommel went back and filmed some new scenes (of himself - he's also an actor in both versions of this movie) and re-edited "Revenge of the Boogeyman" into a whole new movie, which is available as "Boogeyman 2: Redux" or "Boogeyman 2: The Directors Cut" Which is a bit of a cheek as Bruce Star is the listed director on the original version. To confuse matters further, the original and redux versions both share an IMDB and Wikipedia page, as they are classed as different cuts of the same movie.
For the sake of completeness, we should probably go back and review Redux as part of our next project once we've finished with the DPP list...
Anyway, onto the real "Revenge of The Boogeyman":
I mentioned that Lommel co-wrote/directed this; What is actually meant by that is that of the movie's 80min runtime, he wrote and directed the 31mins that are recycled footage from the first film!
Yes, over a third of this movie is "flashbacks" to the first film; all of those moments are in the first half of the film, and I found it interesting that the first half of this film was not only much better than the second half, but was actually better than the original 'The Boogeyman'.
One small thing though - I don't remember John Carradine farting in the original:
I swear I did not add that sound effect!
Not only is the pacing of original movie benefit from the "cliffs notes" approach, but the surrounding story is reasonably interesting; 6 months after the events of "The Boogeyman", Lacy (the girl from the original) has gone to visit her friend Bonnie in LA; and it just so happens that Bonnies husband, Mickey is a European Film director (Played by Lommel). It's not long before Lacy is telling her friends what happened 6 months ago - while Bonney and Mickey's butler, Joseph listens in...
There is also a conversation between Joseph and Bonnie's daughter, which has an inexplicable voice-effect added to it, for no reason whatsoever:
Joseph also soon discovers that Lacy still has a piece of the mirror, which she carries around in a box full of charms, talismans, and crystals.
It's not long before Bonnie is throwing a party in Lacy's honour (inviting loads of Hollywood types along as she believes Lacy's story could be made into the movie that will launch
The Hollywood types are not painted in a remotely flattering light (word is that Lommel objected to the idea of a sequel, and this was his post-modern attack on the Hollywood system) constantly seducing people lower down the 'food chain' or being horrendously tactless to lacy, and it's no shame when they start getting picked off.
Sadly, this is where the film takes a rapid downturn, each death in the new part of the movie is preceded by a weird lighting effect; it goes completely dark, and then a spotlight (supposedly the reflection from the mirror) flashes around the area, usually in the face of the victims - but it is never clear (or rather, it is usually very clear, but entirely inconsistent) whether the characters are aware of the lighting change, or if it is just for our benefit. The victims also stand around looking blank long after things have taken a turn for the strange; one character gets smacked on the ass by a ladder and ends up with a car exhaust in her mouth, but then just crouches there, looking surprised, for a good 30 seconds while the car starts itself!
There also seems to be a strange obsession with keeping the killers identity a secrete even though they have the mirror fragment, which we saw Joseph steal!
An interesting novelty, and half-worth checking out if you haven't seen The Boogyman (or if you haven't seen it for a while), but far FAR from great.
Body Count: 13 (Including 6 of the 8 killings from the original)
Most Memorable Death: Make sure you rush all the way to the back!
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