GARFY'S GORETORIUM

WELCOME(BACK) TO MY NIGHTMARE! Don’t think it, don’t say it. I make my return and I have brought The Bye Bye Man along with me but again, don’t think it, don’t say it.

THE BYE BYE MAN

Writer – Jonathon Penner(screenplay) and Robert Damon Schneck(based on, The Bridge to Body Island)

Director – Stacy Title

Cast- Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Carrie-Anne Moss,  Cressida Bonas, Jenna Kanell and Doug Jones.

Plot – When three college friends move into an old house off campus,  they stumble across the origins of a supernatural entity who relentlessly preys upon them once they learn his name.

I’m not the biggest supernatural movie fan but if the story sounds exciting or different, I’m more than likely willing to give it a try. The fact that this is based on a true story(a friend of the author who wrote the short story told a group of friends about his personal encounter with The Bye Bye Man in Wisconsin the fall of 1990) was certainly a main reason for it grabbing my attention. As a young child I suffered a lot from night terrors and had a crippling fear of the dark, I’d always imagine there was some kind of horrific figure hiding in the shadows of my room, so when similar stories are used in movies added with urban legends or folklore, there is always a chance it will take me back to that time and bring back the feeling of being terrified, which is what you want from a horror movie. However, this isn’t really the case with The Bye Bye Man.

I was left frustratingly disappointed after watching this, not with all of aspects of the movie, mainly the effects and execution of major scenes. The concept is fantastic and the “don’t think it, don’t say it” is equally as good, mixed in with the rules it is definitely effective, like Bloody Mary or even Candyman but unfortunately the whole look of The Bye Bye Man almost ruins it all and other CGI elements really hurt the movie and pretty much took me out of the whole experience. In my opinion, if they left him more of a mysterious figure it may have been a lot more effective and scarier. The scenes that don’t involve the title character however are enjoyable, which I feel is mainly down to the lead actor’s(Douglas Smith) performance, he is believable and you do feel sympathetic towards him which definitely helps with the enjoyment of this movie. The rest of the cast aren’t as believable but I think they still do a good enough job to get you through watching the whole movie.

I give this a rating of 5.5/10 and call it a low priority rental, which I am disappointed that it wasn’t higher as I felt it had a lot more potential.