Boo: A horror movie for Halloween
The movie Boo was a Halloween movie I watched frequently when I was younger, and while I personally did not find it too scary, mostly due to its computer-generated graphics and horror dramatics, it still makes the list of classic horror movies for the month of October. Boo is also not to be confused with BOO! the 2018 release horror-drama that is relatively newer.
The story hits pretty much every cliche of horror movies that can be expected, but the storyline follows an adventuring, fantasy-like genre which is interesting in that context of horror. The greatest cliche must be the group of college students entering the abandoned hospital and getting trapped in it.
The director is Anthony C. Ferrante, and according to IMBd, it is rated 4.1/10 stars. While the star rating is quite low, in 2006, it received within the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, the Saturn Award for Best DVD Release.
The movie starts with the stereotypical blonde main character in her home, who is spooked by doors opening and things of that nature only to find evidence of an intruder in her home; but, as we discover as the movie progresses, the intruder turns out to be just her friends celebrating Halloween.
Her friend group of four decides to visit an old asylum that had burnt to the ground many years ago—a common trope of pre-2010 horror films.
The group of four had another friend go ahead and set up pranks that can only really be played in a haunted asylum, and he ends up bringing his dog, Duchess. However, as per horror movie rules, both the friend and the dog perish; for what it’s worth, I was sadder about the dog. But eventually, the original four make their way to the abandoned asylum.
We soon find out that more people had gone into the asylum including another group of kids as well as two cops. And as we the viewers are warned about the danger that the third floor could bring.
Additionally, the main character receives visions as well as warnings about the history of the hospital as well as visions of her mother’s passing; over time, the story becomes complete with all the information she needs to fight what is in the hospital despite the many losses.
Typically, you can guess the order of character deaths in a movie, and surprisingly you get a lot of clues within this movie as well. As the movie progresses, you find out that the ghost haunting the hospital, Jacob has a larger backstory than you originally expect, and to get what he wants he can only possess dead bodies—a major plot point considering his objective.
All of this being said, as the movie progresses the story itself becomes more readable. All the same, it is still problematic, and by far does not make my own top 10 list. It’s the type of movie you put in the background while doing homework and sometimes look up when the daunting music starts to play.