Customer Reviews

The Boogeyman/The Devonsville Terror

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

To watch either of these Uli Lommel horror films is to enter a different world. One feels that if another director had tackled either of these films, they would have been nothing more than schlocky low budget horror. But there's an intangible creepiness to Lommel's horror that overcomes the silliness of some scenes (being killed by a swinging medicine chest mirror, for example). Perhaps the sheer oddness of scenes like that contribute to the eeriness. The stories in both of these films are something akin to a cinematic non sequitar. They somehow seem to be lacking your standard A plus B equals C logic of a script. And yet there is a strange continuity to the films, an odd, dreamlike logic to them. One does not easily forget either of these films. I first saw The Boogeyman many years ago and it was always a favorite of mine. After many years of not seeing it, I purchased the DVD. Watching it anew after all these years, I noticed for the first time its surreal quality. And then there's the Devonsville terror, which has no right to be as good as it is. It shouldn't be. It should be stupid and boring. But somehow it's not. I highly recommend these to open-minded horror fans and fans of weird cinema. These films are not easily forgotten.

Okay where do I even begin reviewing these movies? I had always heard about "dark" horror movies before but had never actually seen any until just yesterday. I knew that these movies were that kind and I wanted to see what they were like. Well they are FAR different from Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, etc., both for different reasons. I guess one reason is that they aren't exactly modernized. These aren't the slasher-type movies that are so popular today.

The Boogey Man: I never really even notice how clear the image is or anything, but the first thing I noticed on this side of the disc was how perfect the picture was! The movie started off with a bang and then went downhill a little bit, but stayed interesting throughout. To me it was at times hard to understand what exactly was going on. This is one of those movies that actually makes you think! Even with its sometimes confusing plot, this was a pretty good movie. There is something about it that you can't quite place that is very creepy...

The Devonsville Terror: Had one of the best openings in a movie I have ever seen in my life. I agree with those who say they will never be able to get some of those images out of their heads! The idea of witchcraft in early days was a great idea and I wish the whole movie would have been about that. I grew really bored with the movie when it got to the "300 years later" part. Some parts were extremely unrealistic. I expected it to be great because of Donald Pleasence. He did outstanding performances in the Halloween films, but in this movie he couldn't because the character was so vaguely portrayed.

Get the DVD for the Boogeyman and the beginning of The Devonsville Terror, but not if you ONLY like Scream-type horror movies.

"The Boogey Man" is unforgivable...in its ripoff of John Carpenter a la "Halloween" from its shooting angles to the sets to the music...I didn't waste my time on that heap of crap.....BUT, "The Devonsville Terror" grew and grew on me: even though the visuals are grainy and at times unfocused the setting of New England in Autumn suckered me right in; the small town paranoia and creepiness; the plotting, wife-killing shop owner; even the dialogs around the table, as jilted as they are, have a low-budget charm about them. Lommel utilizes the natural environment of New England quite well to build the unsettling atmosphere of the story...I wanted more. The film suffers from uneven acting performances, cheesy make-up and special effects (the opening scene is disturbing, but not so indelible that I will be scarred forever...the latter witch trial sequence is carnivalesque in a bad way), and the unforgettable dream sequence where the lead actress and shop owner are walking by the creek then he....well, watch it and see how much laughter comes out of you!

Buy it for the second film....only!

I must admit that this is a pretty decent Double Feature, considering the fact that both films are low budget goodness! I watched both movies one night, but found myself enjoying "The Boogeyman" the most. While "Devonsville Terror" (1983) is a fairly decent horror movie (Indeed, who can ever forget the scary scenary involving wheels in the beginning?), I found it to be a little too educational and predictable at times with the witch category. However, I found 'Boogeyman' to be a lot more original and the plot more interesting than that of 'Devonsville'. It is probably Ulli Lommel's best (& most INTENSE!) film he's ever created and the acting is superb for a horror flick! Sure, it's a little cheesy at times (Both movies are, but in a GOOD way!) but it's very enjoyable for those of you who are hardcore horror fans (e.g. myself)

Don't get me wrong, I liked 'Devonsville', but it wasn't as good as the first feature on this disk. I only wish that they could've added MORE extras rather than just giving us the T.V. spot for 'Boogeyman'. I don't think they're any commentaries on each film either, which would've also been nice. My last complaint is that the picture quality in 'Devonsville' is fair, but kind of poor even for the DVD transfer it was given. (You'll notice that some of the colors are grainy) I only wish that they could've cleaned it up a little more, but otherwise, it's okay. The 4 stars I give goes to 'Boogeyman', but I give 'Devonsville' 3. Two good movies at a very cheap price!

I enjoyed this now dated cult horror classic. It was quite spooky and clever, with a lot of memorable scenes. In the U.K it is titled The Bogeyman although I can't understand the difference. And why oh why did the BBFC see fit to ban this film?

I watched this DVD because I wanted to see Boogey Man. When I saw that Devonsville Terror was on the same DVD I was like whatever. Well, to my surprise Devonsville Terror was much better than Boogey Man.

Boogey Man gets 1 star if any. Actually started out OK, but the whole possesed mirror was lame and ruined the movie. Also, the death scene of the teenagers in the car was stupid. A guy has a knife go through the back of his head and is sticking out of his mouth like 2 inches. That two inches of knife goes into his girlfriend's mouth and kills her? Made it look like a kiss. Very lame.

The Devonsville Terror I'd give 2 1/2 to 3 stars. Has an interesting story about witch trials and how they come back to haunt the townspeople 300 years later. Definitely some slowness in between, but I always like Donald Pleasence flicks for some reason. He makes them more entertaining. Some good gore in the end. Now I know where Raiders of the Lost Ark got the idea for melting faces - yuck!

This is only a review of The Boogeyman, as I have not seen The Devonsville Terror. It is a well-made and enjoyable film, even though John Carradine is only in it for about four minutes. It's not very scary, though. This film got banned in the U.K. a few years ago, Which highlights how moronic the British censors are.

What a crap pair of movies these two are, a piece of mirror that contains the dead spirit of some bondage sicko who wants to kill for a change (oh well, I guess bondage does get boring) and a witch back for revenge on a town where the characters are so annoying, you'll be begging for the next murder to hurry up and take place. I can see now why they put these two movies together on this double sided disc as a form of flipping torture.

This is a lame ripoff of "Halloween" but horror buffs should still enjoy it for the trademark late 70s-early 80s awfulness in the horror genre.

The 1st film of the boogeyman was pretty atmospheric and had a scary tone thru out and the 2nd film of the devonsville terror carried on in much the same manner. It was interesting to see suzana love starred in both films but she looked a little different in the 2nd film cuz her hair was different and she was 3 years older.