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Just as fans of MGM musicals have several editions of "That’s Entertainment!", horror aficionados now have "Boogeymen." While this compilation of scenes from 17 different movies is by no means definitive, it still contains a lot of worthy choices and packs a strange cumulative kick. "Boogeymen" is one of the few DVDs that actually has a climax at both start and finish. The opening clip consists of most of the finale from Clive Barker’s "Hellraiser," which epitomizes a certain kind of horror imagery, while the closer is the entire ending of the original John Carpenter "Halloween." Both sequences prove joltingly effective even removed from the context of their respective features, but this cannot be said for all choices. The selections mainly involve single menaces that have at least quasi-humanoid form. In other words, there’s no shark from "Jaws," no "Blob" and no gang of carnivorous zombies from any of the "Living Dead" films. There are also no representatives of those two horror staples, vampires and werewolves, nor are there wholly manmade monsters – we don’t get "Frankenstein" or "The Terminator." We do get killer dolls from both the "Child’s Play" and the "Puppetmaster" franchises, but these are animated by supernatural malevolence rather than science. On the other side of the coin, there are few entirely human killers, although the slashers in "Scream," "The Dentist" and "Psycho" qualify. At a stretch, so do the cannibals in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," although they are so weird disquieting that it’s easy to forget they don’t have any dark superpowers. The antihero in "The Ugly" is human but haunted by ghosts, while the Fisherman in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is so resilient that he borders on the surreal. The other figures are completely supernatural, including twisted versions of fairytale beings, such as the title creature in "Leprechaun" and the evil djinn in "Wishmaster." "Candyman" is a vengeful ghost and the Tall Man of "Phantasm" is also some sort of revenant. Finally, there are the full-tilt boogeymen of "Hellraiser," "Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday" (of the "Friday the 13th" franchise), "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Halloween." Some of the scenes are excellent. The selections from "Hellraiser" and "Halloween," for instance, pretty much epitomize their respective films and the sequence from "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is likewise intense. The clip from "The Ugly" – a New Zealand entry that this reviewer hadn’t encountered previously – makes the rest of the film look worth seeking out. However, other choices are somewhat curious. "Candyman" in its entirety is so cumulatively terrifying that it’s exhausting to watch, but the sequence included here is one of the film’s milder ones. The segment from "Texas Chainsaw," rambunctiously scary as it is, doesn’t have the trippy, nightmarish quality of some of the movie’s other sections. However, the trailer for "Chainsaw" rectifies this, with its shadowy but startlingly potent glimpses of homicidal chaos. Most of the 17 films in "Boogeymen" come with trailers and "legends," which are in-depth descriptions of character mythology. Some of the films, however, have trailers but no legends or legends but no trailers, and two – "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" – come unadorned. "Boogeymen" producer/director Gary Shenk – who is also general manager of FlixMix – explained in a phone conversation that in most or all of the cases of omitted trailers, this is due to music and image licensing issues. For example, some music utilized in the trailers was unavailable for inclusion on the DVD (the song "Hush" was prominent in the "Summer" advertising). Some of the trailers are brilliant and serve as honest promises of what is to come. "Chainsaw" arguably has the best promo included here, despite a dodgy print source, with its suggestion of familiar signs of mental illness (domestic filth) giving way to horrific insanity. In a few instances, the trailers are a lot better than the actual films – "The Guardian" ad’s artful segue from domestic bliss into dread (as opposed to the high camp of the movie itself) is a case in point. On the other hand, "Puppetmaster" seems better served by its actual clip than its campy ‘50s-style trailer and "Leprechaun" looks cheerfully cheesy all round. Print quality is pretty good throughout, considering how many different sources and eras the films come from. "Chainsaw" looks a little washed-out, but this is faithful to the release print, while the first shot of "Nightmare" is wildly grainy, although the rest of the footage is clean and handsome. Aspect ratios likewise come in many shapes and sizes. "Phantasm" is actually full-screen 1.33:1, although most films are presented in their theatrical ratios (1.85:1 or wider). Sound is "processed" 5.1, which in practice seems to mean that the rears more quietly reflect what’s happening in the mains. There is an interesting directional effect on "Chainsaw," and music comes through beautifully. In case anyone forgot, the "Halloween" theme reminds us that one of filmmaker John Carpenter’s lasting contributions to cinematic horror is the simple, ominous motif he composed and performed (which may make some of us want to run to our collections and pull out Blue Oyster Cult’s "Don’t Fear the Reaper," also prominently used in the film, but that’s another story). Extras on the DVD include an audio commentary track by Robert Englund, who starred as horror icon Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series, and a fact subtitle track. The two can be played together – mine seemed to be happier when I enabled the subtitles first, then Englund’s commentary – for a truly enjoyable, informative experience. The commentary is particularly appealing, with solid center-channel placement that makes it sound like Englund is sitting just ahead of us. In most cases, Englund has worked with the filmmakers responsible for the clips we’re watching and has some personal anecdote to contribute. In addition to being knowledgeable, Englund has an endearing fan’s enthusiasm – he loves these movies as much as we do. Listening to him is like reminiscing and philosophizing with a friend over favorite horror moments, albeit a friend who’s in a position to compare various other onscreen finger-slicing scenes with his own similar gag in the "Nightmare" clip. The fact track has all kinds of cool tidbits, although occasionally the information provided in the crawl and in Englund’s spiel echo each other. "Boogeymen" comes with comparative body counts and the results of a poll as to who’s scariest. It’s interesting to note that the killer with by far the highest body count – over 100 ahead of his nearest competitor – is ranked only third most frightening. Clearly, horror fans are into quality rather than quantity. There is also a "name that frame" game that mainly utilizes shots from the footage on the disc, so that even films largely unfamiliar to the viewer will have guessable elements. Allowing the clips to run one into the other without interruption or narration creates the fabled "rollercoaster ride" entertainment experience, with few pauses between bursts of intensity. Although it’s no substitute for a great horror feature film, for variety, information and adrenaline boosts, "Boogeymen" is hard to beat.
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