THE BOOGEYS (2017)

THE BOOGEYS (2017)

Tagline: None

(Action, Drama, Sci-Fi) [Short]

Note – No MPAA rating was given for this film. 

Our benefactors will guide us through the darkness...

In this one, we are somewhere in the future where the earth is basically a run-down third-world “planet” controlled by the Boogeys. They are basically aliens with jacked-out noses. The story centers around a former cop who has turned his back on the world, when the story of a missing boy about to be sold to the aliens hits him right in the “redemption strings”, but is it too late? 

First off, I really love a lot of sci-fi stuff out there, and finding out there was just a ton of short films waiting to be reviewed, I decided to check this one out. Compared to a lot of other budget efforts I have seen out there, director Sanjay F. Sharma does a solid job here with the lighting and getting the most out of this small cast. 

Probably the most notable actor in this is Doug Jones (who is best known for playing Abe Sapien in the del Toro HELLBOY movies) who plays the Sycophant. He is only onscreen for maybe a minute, but he really gets into the role. Andrew Troy is pretty solid in this as detective Jack Dawkins. That is also part of the plot that really doesn’t get explored though. Dawkins used to be a cop and now he’s a detective, but he’s broke? I am kind of wondering if he doesn’t work much due to an incident (mentioned but not shown) that happened before the events of the film. We are also given the indication that his being a “former” cop wasn’t his choice, but the script kind of seems to negate that at the very end of the film. 

Overall I have to say this thing is victimized by unclear and sloppy writing regarding the flow of the story. When writing “shorts” you have to pack a bunch of punch in a small space, but your story, or at least the central “idea”, should still be complete. I learned this when I was doing DARK 30, you might have to fine-tune things and have people really read the script to see if they get it without a ton of you having to explain what you meant. Because this one isn’t, it feels like there were some wasted opportunities here. 

The spaceship effects are rough, but the aliens themselves look cool and the effects work for the most part. I have to also give props to the acting here as I eluded to earlier. Everyone in this thing puts in a solid effort and that is commendable. Cinematically the film is well done for the budget and I also really enjoyed the score and pacing. 

Overall though, the story did not capture me or leave me wanting more of these characters or universe. Solid sci-fi should leave you wanting more. I don’t know if I wanted more of this universe, but a full story would have been nice. For those reasons, I have to give this thing a 3 out of 7. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF RED MERCURY AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.