The Boogens(1981)(Review)

You guys ever have friends in grade school who would shout something silly at you while you drank your milk to try to make you choke/snort it up? You know.. diarrhea dinosaur? Well, this film’s title does that to me. This is a film that I was completely unaware of until I watched the ‘In Search of Darkness’ trilogy. The title made me laugh, and it was described as a solid creature feature, so I was excited to purchase a copy during the current Kino Lorber sale. All in all – it delivered.

‘The Boogens’ tells the story of an old mine that closed in the early 1900s after a collapse that trapped many workers inside. So when a small team of workers decide to re-open it, they are completely unaware that there is a monster living inside. It picks off the workers and their lovers one at a time as the mystery is slowly revealed.

The monster itself is super interesting and pretty cute. The way it poses a threat to the people is a bit unpredictable as it works as a sort of hybrid of a few different animals. The puppetry is fantastic, the set design is atmospheric, the music is classic 80s horror, and it’s a tightly-woven 90 minute journey.

If you’re looking for a simple, classic monster formula then this is a great candidate. It certainly doesn’t break the mold or really tread on new turf, but it doesn’t offend anything either.

Oh, except the dog dies. Heads up on that one.

3/5

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra

The Gruesome Gazette

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