Cucuy: The Boogeyman (2018) Reviews

• Lame kiddies movie

  Necrocide-6662019-02-11

  I don't have much to say about this 'horror' movie, because there's really not much about it to say. Production value is good, acting is passable. This is a highly derivative, by the book, cookie cutter 'made for tv' job... If you're looking for horror, you won't find it here. This is basically a kids movie, reminds me of goosebumps or scooby doo. Unoriginal, predictable, weak plot, not scary (at all) and just plain boring for the most part. This is the movie equivalent of cheap and nasty, production line fast food. Don't waste your time....

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• Boogeyman meets Disturbia

  tupper_stephen2018-10-18

  Based on a true Mexican urban legend about a boogeyman who abducts, & eats, naughty children, I am pleased to report that "Cucuy: The Boogeyman" is a step above the usual Syfy Channel movie. I admit that I'd never heard of a Cucuy before, but after reading about its ghastly history, I'm surprised it's taking this long to make a movie about it. Although, apparently, Stephen King's new book is about this same monster. The story starts like a creepier Disturbia. A troubled teen (Jearnest Corchado) lashes out to protect her sister (Bella Stine) & ends up under house arrest... in the same town where a bunch of kids have gone missing. Her uncle (Brian Krause from the better Charmed) is a cop & he's preoccupied trying to find the kidnapper. But when our heroine suspects that her odd neighbor might be the culprit, no one believes her. She starts to investigate & without giving anymore away... realizes that its the boogeyman that's been taking the kids. While most of the victims are kind of brats (a vain Mean Girl-type, a skateboarding bully), eventually the Cucuy turns on the good guys... and the stakes are raised. The set up might not be the most original, but the scares work really really well. There's one scare in particular about selfies that I really liked. The story does take some interesting turns & there's a ending set in the Cucuy's lair that is well done. I wish it was bloodier. Still there are some good effects and most seemed real. The monster itself is practical although it looks like they added some kind of animated fog to him at times. It's an interesting design that reminds me a little of Leprechaun, but the movie keeps him in the shadows for most of the movie. The performances are good. Jearnest Corchado is one to watch for sure. Bella Stine is also good & sympathetic as her deaf sister. The sign language was a nice touch. Their mom, who is also on Riverdale, has a couple of good scenes too. Since it's Halloween & everyone's looking for good scary movies that they haven't seen before, make some pumpkin spice popcorn and check out "Cucuy: The Boogeyman."

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• Tragic

  lailanemo2019-02-01

  If someone presented me with the option of rewatching this film or being stung by 1000000 bees I would choose the bees.

• Better-than-expected SyFy Channel effort

  kannibalcorpsegrinder2018-10-20

  Stuck under house arrest, a teen comes to believe that the source of a string of children disappearing around the community is directly related to a boogeyman of Mexican folklore known as the Cucuy and must convince a local neighbor to help her stop the creature and rescue her captive sister. This one wasn't all that bad of an effort. One of it's stronger points is the fact that it plays incredibly well with the concept of the new boogeyman at the center of the film. Bringing aboard a culturally-specific boogeyman that not many are familiar with or now about is a slightly-original touch that makes this somewhat more engaging than just a regular boogeyman on the loose effort. Not only does that work nicely but there's also the general specifics of the legend to take into account due to that specific boogeyman, including the idea of kidnapping bad children and stealing them away into his special sack to be dealt with later that invokes specific viewpoints of the story as well as the focus on that culture for the characters which allows it to make sense to feature the creature. This one utilizes that setup to launch into a strong series of confrontations that provides this one with plenty to like about the creature appearing in the community, from the opening appearance at the guy's house to abduct the brother to the later appearance at the teenage girls' house who keeps seeing the being in her selfie's and then finally the great scene of it appearing in their house to abduct the sister which is rather creepy and enjoyable how it plays off with the switch in its target. The finale as well is incredibly strong and enjoyable with the entity chasing them through it's underground lair following the abduction of the older sister as that allows for some creepy work to be had within the confines of a creepy location as they try to get away and lead into the final battle that has plenty to really like about it. As well as the strong and truly worthwhile practical effects-work, these here are what hold this one up over it's few minor negative aspects. The main detriment working against the film is the setup here involving the initial reasoning for her house-arrest, as this doesn't make any sense in the slightest as to how she got involved in that considering it's the setup for the entire film. This one gives it such a lousy reasoning for the girl to get that sentence that's generally ignored for large sections of the film with only a few passing mentions making it somewhat questionable why it was brought up since it played no real part in the story. As well, the continuous rounds of cliches present, from the doubting authorities and the mysterious stranger who's on their side all along to the strange coincidence that turns out to be the missing clue they needed to understand the creature and its purpose. The last flaw here is the rather low amount of stalking scenes present here due to the vast majority of the middle portion of the film staying on the investigation of the incidents and getting everyone onto her side in order to fight the creature. Despite not limping along with a dull investigation since it's focus is on the neighbor who's actually on their side unknowingly, this stays interesting but it doesn't provide the continuous creature attacks that are usually found here. Otherwise, there isn't much else really wrong here. Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and children-in-jeopardy.

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• Exciting and spooky

  kyleallencole92018-11-11

  I caught this one during Syfy channels 31 days of Halloween. This one was a spooky little film that fit perfectly with the Halloween season. Definitely a different take on the whole boogeyman myth, which was refreshingly nice.