Good start, bad ending!
We’ve all had the experience of trying not to think about something: a painful memory, a powerful craving, strange behavior from a partner or friend. It often feels like the more we try to push those shity thoughts away, the harder they try to force feed themselves way in your brain. In the end whether the efforts fail or succeed, we get to move on. But what if there was something – a thought, an image, or even just a name – that needed you to let your guard down just once to take root in your mind? And what if that seductive seed grew something dark that should slowly take over your reality, make all of your hidden fears and darkness glow, and ultimately drive you to do the unthinkable? This, my friends, is what lies at the core of the story and horrors encountered by three college friends who come face-to-face with the Bye Bye Man.
Nice premise, right? Too bad its execution wasn’t as cynical. Nothing much here other than your typical, cliche, horror story following snobby, know-it-all teens who give an urban legend the finger. (We’ve seen that before!) Only to find themselves tangled in a supernatural web of daring, haunting thoughts that prolongs the mess they’re in. The premise is interesting and it started off decent. After a droning while of beautiful, yet uninteresting and unrelatable characters running around doing every single stupid thing you see people do in horror films, it loses its haunting grip. With about a handful of interesting scenes, Carrie Anne Moss and Faye Dunaway popping up about three quarters of the film in, I was ready for this flick to be over. Its early release screams snooze-fest. I’m sure it’ll garner an audience, and much respect for daring itself to be different and aim at raising a new level of creepiness, but as a whole… bye-bye, man! This is easily a forgotten flick after its first week of release.
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Grade: C- / Genre: Horror / Rated: PG-13 / Run Time: 1:36
Starring: Lucien Laviscount, Douglas Smith, Cressida Bonas, Doug Jones
Directed by: Stacey Title
© STX Entertainment 2017
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