The Horror Show
The Bye Bye Man
by Stacy Title
Have you ever seen a horror movie that is so bad it’s actually good?
That’s exactly the feeling The Bye Bye Man evokes.
Opening with a mystifying mass murder scene set in the late ‘60s, Title’s horror opus has some pretty big shoes to fill, following a pantheon of spectacular horror villains in the likes of Freddy Krueger and Jason.
Following this rather gory introduction, the movie immediately shifts to the present day sporting a boringly familiar story; three college students Elliot (Douglas Smith), his girlfriend, Sasha (Cressida Bonas), and his best friend, John (Lucien Laviscount), rent an off-campus house, which will later on be the setting of terror. To enhance the sense of threat, creaking doors open themselves, and of course, an eerie seance unleashes evil upon the trio, setting free a never-to-be-called creature.
As this malicious monster starts getting into their heads, they begin to see horrible things leading to horrible actions.
What comes next is a quite persuasive, actually engaging, series of horror scenes, culminating in an inevitable climax. This is usually where such movies fail to deliver the much sought-after feeling of unease. Jonathan Penner’s script and Title’s direction struggled to give The Bye Bye Man some heartbeat.
Even though the movie starts deceptively fine, it quickly devolves into a cliché-ridden flick, sporting flat character interactions and awkward dialogue forcing a tedious storyline onto viewers. From flawed visual effects to uninspired makeup, it feels like Title’s work yields more laughs than scares.
In a nutshell, like many other horror films in recent memory, The Bye Bye Man steals elements from notable blockbusters, but misses to bring anything new or unique to the genre. So, it might be time to say goodbye to The Bye Bye Man. Unless, you’re up for some cheesy, droll horror.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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