Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Cucuy - The Boogeyman; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.50 out of 10.00
This teenage horror-story-come-dark-fantasy flick pits our anti-heroine against a supernatural being from her nation's mythology who steals naughty kids away to punish them.
Peter Sullivan, who wrote and directed, does an admirable job with the story. He packs it with realistic morality. Such as Sofia Martin's house arrest. Her sister gets bullied at school for being different. Her distinction is deafness, which means she requires aids to help her hear. One day a group of bully boys torment her and steal her hearing aids. Sofia spots Amelia's distress and decides to head the thugs off while Amelia gives chase. Sofia confronts the thieves after pulling the car in front of them. The leader gets in her face, and a fight ensues. A copper in the area dives in without identifying himself and gets Sofia's elbow to his jaw. This striking of a police officer gets her placed under house arrest, while the bullies apparently go free to later vandalise the school - practical police work at its best. I can see this happening as we are constantly fed news stories of innocent people convicted of misdemeanours while criminals walk for their role in the crime. The trouble is this bleakness may be true to life, but it adds a depressing mood to the picture. And as we progress, we are administered more of the same. The dark feel of the story needed to be a tad brighter. I can't help but believe a more idealistic moralism would have been the way forward. Having bullying kids braying for somebody to commit suicide and children vanishing from their homes should be dark enough for anybody. But, sadly, not everything is dismal in this too real fantasy world. The ending is fanciful, considering all the events leading up to the finale. The conclusion was the moment when justice could be served cold and bloody and messy. But once again, the bad guys get away with it. The story poses many questions, like, should people who egg on a suicide victim to take their life be convicted of murder or manslaughter? Regrettably, Sullivan doesn't venture to answer any of them, denying the story power and social ethics. And had a few alterations and inclusions been made, Cucuy had the chance to become a strong and moralistic tale.
I admire and respect Sullivan's directorial skills over his writing. He doesn't rely on filters to set the atmosphere, as I stated before, the depressive feel comes from the story and its events. He's even excellent at letting the stage settings create the mood. For example, at the start of the movie, there's a creepy shot of the naughty boys' house. It's detached and stands alone on a darkened plot of land, and lights glow from its windows. And the same can be said about the home next door to Sofia. Even when we see it in daylight, it still holds an ominous air. This feeling is due to the bad paintwork and deteriorating doors and windows, and the unkempt yard with its dilapidated fence and dead plants. If a child stealer would live anyplace, it's in a house like this. The stage setting works thanks to Sullivan's decent composition of the scenes. And though the pace doesn't vary too much, the director uses it perfectly to add an extra atmospheric feel to the segments. When Sofia spots the Cucuy in her neighbour's garden, we see her weigh her choices. Can she follow it; after all, she's wearing an ankle tag. The steady pace gives Sullivan time to show her indecision and her resolve. Then when she sets off on the chase, the same tempo works well to establish the three-minute countdown her tracker provides her. Will it be enough time to get where she's going and back before the law to come a'calling with sirens blazing?
On the whole, the cast is good. Not great, but definitely above average. Though, Brian Krause appears a smidgen out of sorts. He seems a little off-kilter as chief copper, Kieran Martin. But that could just be the way he's written.
Cucuy: The Boogeyman is worthy of one watch, though it's not the type of movie you'll probably return to view again. I probably won't. I know it's a young adult horror, but I still believe more issues required addressing fully and frankly - it would have added so much more to the picture.
Wipe up that cuckoo-wee and check out my Absolute Horror and Obsidian Dreams lists to see where I ranked Cucuy: The Boogeyman.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.50 out of 10.00
This teenage horror-story-come-dark-fantasy flick pits our anti-heroine against a supernatural being from her nation's mythology who steals naughty kids away to punish them.
Peter Sullivan, who wrote and directed, does an admirable job with the story. He packs it with realistic morality. Such as Sofia Martin's house arrest. Her sister gets bullied at school for being different. Her distinction is deafness, which means she requires aids to help her hear. One day a group of bully boys torment her and steal her hearing aids. Sofia spots Amelia's distress and decides to head the thugs off while Amelia gives chase. Sofia confronts the thieves after pulling the car in front of them. The leader gets in her face, and a fight ensues. A copper in the area dives in without identifying himself and gets Sofia's elbow to his jaw. This striking of a police officer gets her placed under house arrest, while the bullies apparently go free to later vandalise the school - practical police work at its best. I can see this happening as we are constantly fed news stories of innocent people convicted of misdemeanours while criminals walk for their role in the crime. The trouble is this bleakness may be true to life, but it adds a depressing mood to the picture. And as we progress, we are administered more of the same. The dark feel of the story needed to be a tad brighter. I can't help but believe a more idealistic moralism would have been the way forward. Having bullying kids braying for somebody to commit suicide and children vanishing from their homes should be dark enough for anybody. But, sadly, not everything is dismal in this too real fantasy world. The ending is fanciful, considering all the events leading up to the finale. The conclusion was the moment when justice could be served cold and bloody and messy. But once again, the bad guys get away with it. The story poses many questions, like, should people who egg on a suicide victim to take their life be convicted of murder or manslaughter? Regrettably, Sullivan doesn't venture to answer any of them, denying the story power and social ethics. And had a few alterations and inclusions been made, Cucuy had the chance to become a strong and moralistic tale.
I admire and respect Sullivan's directorial skills over his writing. He doesn't rely on filters to set the atmosphere, as I stated before, the depressive feel comes from the story and its events. He's even excellent at letting the stage settings create the mood. For example, at the start of the movie, there's a creepy shot of the naughty boys' house. It's detached and stands alone on a darkened plot of land, and lights glow from its windows. And the same can be said about the home next door to Sofia. Even when we see it in daylight, it still holds an ominous air. This feeling is due to the bad paintwork and deteriorating doors and windows, and the unkempt yard with its dilapidated fence and dead plants. If a child stealer would live anyplace, it's in a house like this. The stage setting works thanks to Sullivan's decent composition of the scenes. And though the pace doesn't vary too much, the director uses it perfectly to add an extra atmospheric feel to the segments. When Sofia spots the Cucuy in her neighbour's garden, we see her weigh her choices. Can she follow it; after all, she's wearing an ankle tag. The steady pace gives Sullivan time to show her indecision and her resolve. Then when she sets off on the chase, the same tempo works well to establish the three-minute countdown her tracker provides her. Will it be enough time to get where she's going and back before the law to come a'calling with sirens blazing?
On the whole, the cast is good. Not great, but definitely above average. Though, Brian Krause appears a smidgen out of sorts. He seems a little off-kilter as chief copper, Kieran Martin. But that could just be the way he's written.
Cucuy: The Boogeyman is worthy of one watch, though it's not the type of movie you'll probably return to view again. I probably won't. I know it's a young adult horror, but I still believe more issues required addressing fully and frankly - it would have added so much more to the picture.
Wipe up that cuckoo-wee and check out my Absolute Horror and Obsidian Dreams lists to see where I ranked Cucuy: The Boogeyman.
Take Care & Stay Well.