D V D C R Y P T

BOOGEYMAN 2

Directed by Ulli Lommel
Produced by Ulli Lommel
Written by Ulli Lommel, Suzanna Love & David Herschel
Directors of Photograpy Jochen Breitenstein & David Sperling
Music by Tim Krog
Cast: Ulli Lommel, Suzanna Love, Ron James & John Carradine

2002/83 mins/Color/Dolby Stereo
1.85:1/English/USA/NTSC Region 1

Review from the Image Entertainment DVD

When we watch a sequel, we usually decide if the movie was better or worse than the original. But, have you ever seen a sequel that was the exact same movie as the original? That's what's happening with BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX, which has to be one of the oddest film experiments ever. In order to properly review BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX, we need a little time-line. Ulli Lommel's THE BOOGEYMAN was released in 1980, and despite the fact that it was a blatant rip-off of HALLOWEEN with a little supernatural action thrown in for good measure, the movie became a hit. The story concerned a haunted mirror which held the spirit of a man who had been murdered by Willie (Nicholas Love) while his sister Lacey (Suzanna Love) looked on. Shards of this mirror now hold a demonic power and seek revenge on Willie and Lacey. Following the success of THE BOOGEYMAN, Lommel was tapped to make BOOGEYMAN II, which he did, in which Lacey goes to Hollywood to help make the movie of her harrowing tale, only to have the murderous mirror return. This sequel became infamous because it contained so much footage from the first film. Which brings us to BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX.

In this new non-film, director Ullil Lommel appears in new shot-on-video footage in which he plays filmmaker Mickey Lombard, the same character that he played in the original BOOGEYMAN II. (Confused yet?) Lombard is being interrogated for some murders, presumably those which occurred in the film within a film in BOOGEYMAN II. Aside from these new video vignettes, where Lombard/Lommell will make brief comments, the bulk of BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX is made up of footage from THE BOOGEYMAN. Actually, the Internet Movie Database lists the running time of THE BOOGEYMAN at 82 minutes, so we probably get the majority of the film here. This is interspersed with clips from BOOGEYMAN II, which are shown at high-speed. Why? I don't know. So, what we basically have here is the entire film of THE BOOGEYMAN, which is occasionally interrupted by clips from BOOGEYMAN II and comments from Lombard/Lommel. This may be the first film ever which contains flashbacks within flashbacks within a flashback.

In the 6-minute interview with Ulli Lommel which appears on this DVD, the director explains that he didn't really want to make a BOOGEYMAN II, so he made the film a farce about filmmaking. He states that this new BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX takes that step even further by only showing the footage from BOOGEYMAN II in fast-motion. That doesn't even begin to explain what in God's name this REDUX is supposed to be. Once again, this is simply a slightly truncated version of THE BOOGEYMAN. Here comes the worst part. The plot synopsis on the DVD package leads one to believe that the movie within is the original BOOGEYMAN II, as it promises a tale in which Lacey takes her story to Hollywood. Trust me, none of that is in here. So, who is this aimed at? I have no idea. Those who were actually hoping for a DVD of the real BOOGEYMAN II will be beyond disappointed by this disc, as that film isn't included here. This can only be recommended to those who like THE BOOGEYMAN and missed out on the long out-of-print Anchor Bay DVD which contained both THE BOOGEYMAN and Lommel's THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR. Otherwise, this should simply be seen as what to do when you've got some old movie footage lying around and you're really bored.

BOOGEYMAN 2: REDUX finds its way to DVD courtesy of Image Entertainment. The image has been letterboxed at 1.85:1, but the transfer is not enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image has to be reviewed in three parts. The new video footage of Lommel, which is essentially a static shot, looks fine. The footage from THE BOOGEYMAN looks pretty good as well. The colors are fine, and there are only scant defects from the source print. There is the occasional hint of artifacting and edge-enhancement here. The scenes from BOOGEYMAN II are show in fast-motion, so it's basically impossible to get any real handle on how they look. The audio on this DVD is Dolby digital stereo track, which provides clear dialogue and sound effects, but no overwhelming stereo effects. As noted above, the disc contains an interview with Lommel, where he reveals that he's working on BOOGEYMAN Parts 4-7. The disc also contains two 4-minutes snippets from BOOGEYMAN 3 and BOOGEYMAN 5, both of which mean very little as they are taken out of context. Once again, we must declare shennigans on the DVD packaging, as it contains a synopsis for a movie that simply isn't on the disc.

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