Indie Film Review: MYERS: RISE of the BOOGEYMAN (2011)

Tis the season of Halloween and what better way to bring in the season than another exceptional horror fan film from Blinky Productions and Writer/Director Chris R. Notarile who has already visited the world of John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978) with such films as "Halloween Season" and "The Last Halloween: The Death of Michael Myers" and "Friday the 31^st: Michael Vs. Jason" and "The Nightmare Ends on Halloween." Now Notarile goes back to the origins of the Boogeyman with his latest film "Myers: Rise of the Boogeyman." If you ever wanted to know what sparked Michael Myers descent into sudden madness then this is the film for you.

The film takes place in 1963 and opens with Judith Myers (Zoe Sloane) walking along the sidewalk with her little brother Michael (introducing Vincent Depinto). When Judith exclaims that she is waiting for her boyfriend this sparks a conversation between them about the nature of whether or not the Boogeyman is real. This leads to the off-handed remark by Judith that Michael is the Boogeyman because he can "boogey-man." As Michael dances to the comedic remark, Judith sees her boyfriend in the distance and runs up to him leaving Michael all alone.

When Michael realizes that he can't find his sister and that he has been abandoned fear and the unknown lead him to wonder the neighbor aimlessly until he comes across a Shape with an ominous mask and a large kitchen knife. He runs but is pursued by the Shape until he finally decides to stand his ground and no longer let the fear take control of him leading him on a new journey that is darker than he could have ever imagined.

Unlike what was depicted in the Carpenter original (in which Michael just is a force of evil) or the Rob Zombie remake (in which Michael is evil because of the way he was raised) this film depicts Michael as a carefree normal kid until his older sister abandons him and he is left alone. The sense of being alone forces a "dark side" to manifest itself and with no one to fight back the "dark side" Michael becomes susceptible. Judith & Michael's conversation about the Boogeyman mimics that of Laurie and Tommy's giving the film greater weight with the original film as does the climax of the film which leads to the opening motivations of the original Carpenter classic.

I'll try not to give too much away but the idea that the young Michael Myers must confront his future self is one I've not seen yet and adds tremendously to the overall oeuvre of the myth instead of just presenting just another random fan film that displays senseless violence. In fact, there is little to no violence in this film at all as it strives for the more psychological approach.

The film, early on, has some sound quality issues as I couldn't always hear what was being said but the use of the Carpenter/Howarth/ Ottman score from HALLOWEEN: H20 was a nice touch. Also, the acting was pretty good for a horror fan film (but Notarile's films don't usually have this problem) and Depinto does a great first time role as the iconic young Myers. Fans of the HALLOWEEN franchise will not be disappointed.

To view the film itself go to the official Blinky Productions website at

http://www.blinky-productions.com/index2.php