Review: 'The Bye Bye Man' will make you go 'ouch', but little else
Secret ending: No.
Running time: 96 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“The Bye Bye Man” is a supernatural horror film.
It is about a group of three college students who move into a haunted house and encounter a supernatural entity that thrives on possession.
“The Bye Bye Man” is directed by Stacy Title and written by Jonathan Penner. It stars Douglas Smith (Elliot), Lucien Laviscount (John), Cressida Bonas (Sasha), Doug Jones (The Bye Bye Man), Carrie-Anne Moss (Detective Shaw), Michael Trucco (Virgil), Cleo King (Mrs Watkins), and Erica Tremblay (Alice), with a cameo by Faye Dunaway (Mrs Redmon). It is rated NC-16.
If you’re wondering why the little girl in the film (Alice) looks so familiar, it’s because she’s played by the sister of Jacob Tremblay, Erica Tremblay. I was confused (and impressed) for quite a while because I was wondering why Jacob Tremblay was now playing a female character, and pretty convincingly too. However, she doesn’t play into the story as much as you might expect from a title like “The Bye Bye Man”. Whether she survives or not, though…
Highlights
Painful moments
So the core premise of the film is that the Bye Bye Man will possess you once you know its name. However, this possession comes in a more insidious form — rather than controlling your actions, the Bye Bye Man will make you hallucinate and thereby trick you into doing horrific deeds. Several scenes draw out the tension of seeing people run obliviously towards their painful doom (namely, oncoming traffic) as you literally see them getting mowed over by whatever threat is approaching. It makes you go “ouch”. Many times.
Letdowns
Poor special effects
“The Bye Bye Man” features a hell hound that looks like it was pulled from a 1993 first-person-shooter game. It appears only in a few scenes, but the quality of the animation is so lousy that they might as well have not shown the dog, since it kills any fear that you might have had. The Bye Bye Man himself, once you’ve seen him, is very obviously a human being with make-up on him. The film was much better when you didn’t see any of the antagonists.
Lack of tension
The movie doesn’t quite keep you in suspense for two reasons. First, there’s a silly subplot about a love triangle that keeps rearing its head just when you’re getting nervous about what’s going to happen. Second is the fact that it’s more like an adventure, rather than a horror film, since the characters find themselves in bright open spaces a lot of the time. There’s little tension generated in a film that should, rightfully, keep us worried about what the monster might make the characters do next.
Unconvincing supporting characters
The three leads aren’t the most seasoned of performers, but that’s not really a deal breaker when it comes to horror films. What really plagues the film is the assortment of supporting characters that seem to have come from a cheesy sitcom. You’ve got the stereotypical sassy large African-American woman, a hapless widow living all by herself, and a botanist whose every word is exposition. It’s like “The Bye Bye Man” is trying its best to be a comedy about a ghost.
Unsatisfying resolution of the central conflict
The biggest problem with “The Bye Bye Man” is how it handles its antagonist and the major conflict that occurs. It subverts no expectations and ends in the most straightforward way possible. Part of the problem is due to the invincibility of the Bye Bye Man himself, which presents a problem in the construction of the story. It lends itself to an outcome that is as trite and stale as the Bye Bye Man’s face.
Should you watch it if it’s free? Okay.
Should you watch it at weekday movie ticket prices? No.
Score: 2.0/5
“The Bye Bye Man” opens in cinemas:
– 12 January, 2017 (Singapore)
– 25 January, 2017 (Philippines)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He's also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
