One year after Mr. Boogedy debuted as a part of The Disney Sunday Movie, a sequel was made. This is interesting as if you'll recall, it was thought at one point, this movie could lead to a tv show. That never happened and apparently, the horror elements have been watered down even more in this sequel to the point of being untraceable. This is a bit of a shame and we will get into many of the other odd decisions made as we look at the movie.
Oh, and the movie also loses Kristy Swanson and even worse, John Astin.
However, what this movie loses in John Astin, it gains in Eugene Levy.
The Plot
The movie actually opens with a new character that I believe is meant to be a stand-in for Astin telling a campfire story that recaps the first movie. That's a little annoying but I get the idea as it had been a year since the original aired.
The film wastes no time in bringing Boogedy back and I like that as it lets the audience in on that he is back. This film is lighter on plot than the original, which would typically bug me but the film more than makes up for that with more exploration of Lucifer Falls and tenser moments. A perfect example of this is when Ari and Corwin (the two brothers) find a skeleton key that they grab and takes them to a spooky-looking graveyard spot where they first encounter Boogedy in the sequel.
Of course, this is where the first issue comes in, the parents don't believe the kids. I get the idea as this is a kid's horror movie and a lot of those the parents don't believe the kids when they see something supernatural. It's a common trope that is as old as day. Looking around online, I believe this sums up why this is such a common trope in these movies.
It's a simple nod and wink to reality. Children have an active imagination. Parents are so swept up in their adult lives, careers, frustrations, etc. They dismiss a child's concern of an apparent irregularity as nothing more than that active imagination, misinterpretation of the adult world, etc.
This would make sense if there weren't a sequel but the parents in this film have seen Mr. Boogedy before and should believe their kids when they say that Boogedy has returned. The idea of letting the audience in on the fact that Boogedy has returned from the get-go works as a way of building stakes and doing some different types of scares but it makes no sense when the audience knows that the parents Boogedy exists and that he can return.
Take this further, one can look at what TV Tropes refers to as the You Have to Beleive Me! trope and entry number 5
Most important, they will be stunned and angry that anyone would find their claim implausible, regardless of how implausible it would be even if they weren't completely flushing any credibility they might otherwise have down the toilet in their method of persuasion.
This may seem like a Boy Who Cried Wolf situation but here's not so much a case of the characters lying rather them being flustered that the parents are ignoring the past experiences. There are other great moments such as Jennifer (the eldest sister) seeing her dad floating down the hallway in midair.
Which happened because Boogedy possessed the body of the father. Which again common element in ghost stories.
Spirit possession may be broadly defined as any altered or unusual state of consciousness and allied behavior that is indigenously understood in terms of the influence of an alien spirit, demon, or deity.
For a perfect example, think of Swayzee in Ghost possessing Whoopi's character. And I think I get what this movie was going for as they wanted it to be a big reveal when Boogedy possessed one of the parents but again, this goes back to the problem of the parents knowing what Boogedy can do.
Oh and apparently, his magic cloak that was supposedly destroyed in the first movie wasn't. Okay, this is another issue in which sequels undo everything that was done in the original. Which on the one hand, I get as the stakes need to be higher in a sequel but that is aggravating when you watch the original and the sequel back-to-back.
This is an annoying habit that so many sequels delve into when instead of undoing the resolution and results of the first movie, it would make more sense to build upon what happened in the original movie. This is seen somewhat in the beginning but it tampers off the longer the movie goes on.
You may have noticed that I haven't brought up the titular Bride, well that's in part because the movie spends so much time on a local carnival and this is where Eugene Levy comes into play as he is a General Store manager that's jealous of Mr. Davis (the father) as he was named honorary mayor for the carnival.
And dear lord, his hatred for this guy is so bad that he ends up stealing Boogedy's magic cloak.
Okay, let's break this down. This character has lived in Lucifer Falls all his life. And even if he didn't believe in the story of Mr. Boogedy, he should be familiar with it and understand what the cloak can do. Especially once he gets it in his head that the family had been using the magic cloak to be successful. If he knew the cloak was magic, then he should've had an idea of who it belonged to.
But instead, Boogedy gets him to do his bidding, which includes releasing Boogedy and having him attack the carnival. Yet, still, nothing with the bride as the actual bride isn't the sequel and instead, Boogedy thinks he has found his love as Eloise (the mom) is wearing the outfit of the woman he loved. And they do make her hair look like this and I guess just because it's a Bride of... movie.
Kinda pointless in my opinion but that's really the smallest issue in this movie. Looking at this movie as a whole, I'm mixed on it. There are a lot of issues that I have with the movie but I think it benefits from a longer runtime as it allows more breathing time than the original had but it doesn't use that time effectively.
However, it does more with the characters than the 45-minute runtime of the original.
Characters
While there are more characters in this sequel, there are only a select few I wish to focus on.
Main Characters
The Davis Family played by Richard Mauser, Mimi Kennedy, Tammy Lauren, David Faustino, & Joshua Rudoy
I had my issues with the parents not believing the kids because of their past experience with Boogedy but I do enjoy the dynamic of the family quite a lot. This is perhaps the biggest thing carrying the movie throughout. There is strong love, even with the annoyance of it taking until near the end of the film for the parents to believe the kids.
Supporting Character
Mr. Lynch played by Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy was an uppity character, which seems to be the case now as he played a similiar type character ealier in the decade in Splash. However, while I didn't like his character there, I enjoyed the character that he played in this film a little more even if the character was more malicious in his actions towards the family.
Villain
Mr. Boogedy played by Howard Witt
I like that Mr. Boogedy got quite a bit more to do as that allowed the character to have more fun moments and more scares. Where as the first film made you wait for him to show up and his presence hung over the movie. I get the idea but I think it works better seeing him from the get-go.
My Final Thoughts
As I said I'm mixed, I enjoyed what this movie did for the characters and the setting but there are quite a few annoying elements such as the whole thign of the parents not beliving their kids. Even though, this is a sequel. Overall, I am in the minority here as most people that have looked at these films prefer the original whereas I think this sequel is better but it's flaws are more obvious. Join me next time as we move from Mr. Boogedy to the Boogeyman as we look at at film that had been pulled from Disney Channel at the behest of parents for being too scary as we look at...
Don't Look Under The Bed
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