‘Boo!’ VOD Review
Stars: Aurora Perrineau, Jaden Piner, Jill Marie Jones, Rob Zabrecky, Charley Palmer Rothwell | Written by Luke Jaden, Diane Michelle | Directed by Luke Jaden
Outside the big movies that everyone talks about and promotes, I try to go into as many horror movies as possible with knowing very little about them. So a quick look on IMDb before I viewed Boo! told me that it wasn’t in fact a comedy that I believed it was based on the title and poster I had seen.
It is about as far away from comedy as a horror could be to be honest, with a tone that felt a lot more like recent box office and critic hit, Hereditary. This story also centres on a dysfunctional family that includes mother, father, daughter and son and while I write this I see that it has a few more similarities with Hereditary! In Boo! this families issues are in their past but will soon becoming back to haunt them after the father decides to burn a note left at their door that the son believes will start a curse if it is not passed on. And as you’ve guessed, the son is right.
Boo! has a great tone and atmosphere and they are key to what makes it such a good genre movie. Through must of Boo! you will feel a little uneasy. Like you know something bad is going to happen to someone but you’re not quite sure when or why. The terrific musical score plays a big part in this and it’s no surprise that composer Jon Natchez has picked up plenty of experience despite not being around too long. The score is clearly Stranger Things-inspired but never feels like a copy cat. It adds a more classic horror darkness to that synth-style that works really well. There’s also some good choices on the odd song that is used. The music is definitely a highlight of Boo!
I will forgive the use of CGI blood because it’s not used too much and it doesn’t ruin any scene but I wished they just used some practical effects for something as simple as blood.
Although no-one sticks out, performances on the whole are good. You can feel the tension and worry when the family are together. That sense of dread remains throughout. Each member has their own issues with themselves and with each other. These issues come to the forefront in the final twenty minutes and when they are confronted, what has been built up for the hour before actually reaches an entertaining conclusion. I say entertaining because I love horror but don’t get me wrong, the conclusion is hard-hitting and dark. There’s no Hollywood ending here.
Not everyone is a fan of that slow burn style of horror but when it’s done right it works really well in the genre and Boo! Does get it right. It might be overshadowed by some more well known films over the last couple of years but I can see Boo! Becoming a bit of a cult hit and lead director Luke Jaden on to bigger things.
*** 3/5
Boo! will be available on digital download from today, 17th June, on the likes of iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sony, and Sky Store.