Boogeymen

Boogeymen (2001)
Hart Sharp Video
Cast: The Boogeymen
Extras: Commentary Track, Theatrical Trailers, Boogeymen Bios, Animated Trivia, Trivia Game
Rating:

Have you ever bought one of those glamorous film books that promise to give you ’Everything you ever wanted to know about your favorite movies?’ only to be utterly disappointed by the mindless reiteration of material that is readily available from countless other sources? Well, sadly, ’Boogeymen’ feels very much like that.
It is a compilation DVD, focusing on seventeen villains from the world of horror films, presenting them neatly arranged, with an introduction, three trivia facts, and two film clips each. The villains featured range from well known baddies such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger, and lesser-known villains such as Camilla from ’The Guardian’ and the Djinn from ’Wishmaster’.

The quality of the video varies, but it’s never bad. Some clips are grainier than others, but it’s clear that an attempt was made to clean up any of the scenes. Aspect ratios also vary, but NO clips are shown in 2.35:1, and the clip from ’Halloween’ is even shown full-frame! The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1, which, once again varies from clip to clip. For some there is a nice use of surround sound, while the rear speakers stay silent for others.

Robert ’Freddy Krueger’ Englund has contributed a commentary track to his release, but the choice is dubious at best. I do love Robert as much as the next guy, but having him comment on 17 villains that compete with his for fans, just doesn’t feel right. Naturally he has to have a very unbiased tone and politically correct comment for everything and everyone, or he would risk to destroy his own credibility and come across as jaded or self-centered – something no one would do. Bringing in someone like ’Fangoria’-editor Tony Timpone or Michael Gingold would certainly have been a much better move in this case.

Unlike what I had hoped, ’Boogeymen’ is not a reference piece at all, but a mere showreel, the likes you typically find cover-mounted for free on magazines. Only this time, it will cost you a full $20! Pretty steep considering that it is extremely shallow and given its nature you will watch it once and then never again.

In the light of all this, $20 seems an awful lot of money for a shallow collection of movie trailers and some gimmicky games, combined with trivia facts an a diet, stating the obvious. At $5 apiece I may recommend this superfluous release, but as it stands, I would recommend to take your money and buy one of the films that are featured on this disc instead. You will get much more fun, satisfaction and entertainment out of that.