Directed by:
James L. ConwayCinematography:
Paul HippComposer:
Bob SummersCast:
Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, John Crawford, Jon Lormer, Scott Wilkinson, Jeff Harlan, Med Flory, Marcia DangerfieldPlots(1)
In a small town near Denver, two young men begin to explore a long-abandoned old mine recently re-opened by a group of minors. When one the men is discovered missing, his friends begin a search that leads them to horrifying consequences. They're all unaware of the evil that's been unleashed and soon, one by one, a monster that no one has seen snatches up the townspeople. Suddenly, the grisly truth is revealed and a young couple is forced to confront the unknown in order to save their lives... and the entire town. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
The reopening of an old mine results in the release of trapped monsters, and the mine is connected by tunnels to some of the houses in the surrounding area, putting their inhabitants at risk. The story focuses on two young couples, with the men working to reopen the mine, and so unwittingly aiding the horrors that follow. A monster horror film that, as in similar films, takes it time before showing the monsters. And that's fine, because it activates the viewer's imagination. A tentacle with the spike proves very effective and the throat slitting is one of the first scenes with decent gore. It's a shame that most of the time the tension is dosed only slowly, but the attacks are good. The most thrilling part is the last quarter, when the fight for bare life ensues. There is a funny moment with angry dog chewing not only its mistress's shoes. The restored print has a great image. Follow-up question: what do you do when you see a trail of blood leading to the basement? More for fans of older horror films.
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The American horror movie The Boogens is a nice example of its time, the 1980s, when slasher movies were all the rage and when they still had the right atmosphere. Even such a simple idea as monsters coming from mines was turned into something that worked, although there isn't much more to say about it. The Boogens is a movie that you are just going to watch once.
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A predictable monster horror movie that, despite being full of horror clichés, so delightfully subverts the way horror movies treat pets. So that scene in which one of the characters leaves his poodle alone in a house with the monster hiding in the cellar will stick in your mind. For a few minutes, the dog becomes the main character we are really worried about, because we know that by all genre conventions he has it all figured out. But to our surprise, he repeatedly manages to narrowly escape death. We don't see the monster most of the time, which is a good thing because he looks ridiculous. But as long as he stays out of the picture, instead of letting the viewer's imagination work (as Jaws does so well), the film just feeds us cheap subjective shots from the monster's point of view, in which the cameraman “throws himself” at the actors. And that's pretty boring. What a shame the poodle didn't get more space.
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