Horror Movie Review: The Boo (2018)

The Boo is a South-American Horror/Thriller that was written and directed by Scott McEntire. It was crowd funded via an Indiegogo campaign and released in 2018. The movie is based on the legend of the Boo Hags which originally comes from South Carolina’s rich Gullah culture. According to the myth, Boo Hags are similar to vampires, except instead of blood they steal your energy until you die.

The film follows a bereaved small town sheriff named Ronnie. After getting sad news that his brother had passed away, Ronnie connects with his now widowed sister-in-law Brooke. They decide to move into together so they can help each other grieve. However, it isn’t long before Ronnie starts to hear rumours around town that Brooke has been sleeping with the locals. He overhears them saying some derogatory things about her and gets into an argument.

That night, Brooke makes a pass at Ronnie but he turns her down when she shows some uncharacteristic behaviour. It isn’t long before they come to realise that Brooke has some kind of condition that makes her act almost succubus-like at night. If that wasn’t bad enough, Ronnie is contending with seeing visions of his late wife. They decide to flee the town in hopes of escape and answers.

If feels almost ridiculous to criticize a film that has a production cost of less than $2,000 but here I am. The Boo is bad on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to start. Firstly, I will say that the premise is good. The legend to which it is based isn’t uninteresting. However, it’s executed poorly. The acting performances are simply, bland. I mean, you get a sense that they are really trying but it just comes across like some kind of low down soap opera. Still, I don’t entirely blame them. As I said, they are trying and I kind of bought into what they were saying but the dialogue is atrocious. It’s just badly written and has a repetitive feel to it. The performances are very wooden and often cringe worthy. Although, you could say that about this entire production.

If all that wasn’t bad enough, the story itself is delivered in an extremely slow and mundane way. Almost nothing happens other than drawn-out scenes of people talking, then more talking and then more. There are effects near the end but they’re the cheapest of cheap, truly terrible. Absolutely nothing happens to make The Boo deserving of being acknowledged as a thriller, let alone a horror. The premise may have potential but it fails, hard.

I know the cinematography was likely done by an amateur but that’s still no excuse. The camera often randomly shakes, warps and stutters.

Overall, The Boo feels like a bad soap opera where nothing of note ever happens. It was a boring slog to sit through.