Monsters in Cinema
The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman or as spelled in some cultures, Bogeyman, is a monster that children primarily see. Adult tend to threaten their children with the boogeyman if they do not do what they are told. For example, if they do not eat their veggies, clean their room, or go to bed on time, parents tend to say: "the boogeyman will get you!" Versions of the boogeyman exist almost universally, and some psychologists believe that the monster may stem from an evolutionary need in prehistoric times to discourage children from wandering away from the safety of the group. The monsters is said to usually inhabit a child's room, or be near the child's room. He usually comes at night and will try to terrorize or take the child. The boogeyman may look human but they have certain attributes that make them a monster. They can be taller or shorter than a human. The monster differs in looks because the story of the boogeyman comes from many different cultures.
The word boogeyman is first attested as bogeyman in the 16th century. It is probably related to the earlier bogle, first appearing in print in 1505 with the sense of "ghost." By extension, boogeyman is now used to describe any imaginary or irrational fear, while retaining its original meaning of a monster that terrorizes children. When it comes to cinema, the boogeyman has been seen in both the good and bad light. From movies like Monster's Inc, we see the funny, cutesy side, where the monsters need the children's screams to give electricity to run their part of the world. On the dark and demented side, there's Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers.
Some rules for makes a Boogeyman are:
The word boogeyman is first attested as bogeyman in the 16th century. It is probably related to the earlier bogle, first appearing in print in 1505 with the sense of "ghost." By extension, boogeyman is now used to describe any imaginary or irrational fear, while retaining its original meaning of a monster that terrorizes children. When it comes to cinema, the boogeyman has been seen in both the good and bad light. From movies like Monster's Inc, we see the funny, cutesy side, where the monsters need the children's screams to give electricity to run their part of the world. On the dark and demented side, there's Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers.
Some rules for makes a Boogeyman are:
- The Boogeyman will have some inhuman strength. They always have some sort of power that seems like no matter what the victims do, they will lose.
- The Boogeyman works alone. They aren't known for team work. It's rare for the Boogeyman to work with others, but if he does, they are servants, and he's the one who takes the credit.
- The Boogeyman is usually male and the survivor is usually female. Horror movies, specifically the slasher genre, is a female empowering genre. Yes, we may see women die in them, but the survivor is usually a woman, because she realizes she alone needs to fight her battles. These genres usually have a running theme or moral to the story: those that are pure of heart, mind, body, and soul tend to triumph over evil.
- Even after the Boogeyman is killed/destroyed, he seems to live on. Even one person still believes in his existence, then the Boogeyman is never truly gone. The fear is still there, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
- The Boogeyman is usually masked. This helps enhance the mystery and the fear that the boogeyman can be anyone and everyone. In the cases that the boogeyman is not masked, they tend to be horribly scarred or disfigured.
- The Boogeyman is always molded to fit modern day culture and society.
- The one true way to rid the Boogeyman in the movies is to face the fear. They had to face what drove them to be scared. If they give the Boogeyman a physical form like Freddy, Michael Myers, or Voldemort, for example, once they get the courage to face the boogeyman, they can either run or hide, but Boogeyman will never go away unless the person stands up to them and deal with the fear. After that, one of two things will happen: they will defeat the boogeyman or they will die trying.
Monsters Inc.
A city of monsters with no humans called Monstropolis centers around the city's power company, Monsters, Inc. The lovable, confident, tough, furry blue behemoth-like giant monster named James P. Sullivan (better known as Sulley) and his wisecracking best friend, short, green cyclops monster Mike Wazowski, discover what happens when the real world interacts with theirs in the form of a 2-year-old baby girl dubbed "Boo," who accidentally sneaks into the monster world with Sulley one night. And now it's up to Sulley and Mike to send Boo back in her door before anybody finds out, especially two evil villains such as Sulley's main rival as a scarer, chameleon-like Randall (a monster that Boo is very afraid of), who possesses the ability to change the color of his skin, and Mike and Sulley's boss Mr. Waternoose, the chairman and chief executive officer of Monsters, Inc.- imdb.com
Disney Pixar a scary childhood fear and made it easy for kids to understand. They teach the kids, "hey, there may be monsters in your closet, but they aren't there to hurt you. They are there to get energy to power their world." Once the monsters realized that the screams of laughter are far more powerful than the screams of fear, the monsters no longer chose to scare the children.
The monsters in this film are given more a comical and cute factor. They give a lighter view of the boogeyman to kids of a younger age who at one point may have been afraid of the dark or who still are afraid of the dark. They can now see the boogeyman as comedian or just like any other "person" with a job. They paint the monsters in the closet as having a world entirely of their own kind that just interlaps with ours on occasion to harbour energy. The fantasy world also perception gives children the ability to understand that there are differences among us and them, but we are alike and once we come to the understanding of each other, the fear will be gone.
The monsters in this film are given more a comical and cute factor. They give a lighter view of the boogeyman to kids of a younger age who at one point may have been afraid of the dark or who still are afraid of the dark. They can now see the boogeyman as comedian or just like any other "person" with a job. They paint the monsters in the closet as having a world entirely of their own kind that just interlaps with ours on occasion to harbour energy. The fantasy world also perception gives children the ability to understand that there are differences among us and them, but we are alike and once we come to the understanding of each other, the fear will be gone.
Nightmare on Elm Street
In the early 1980's, a psychopath named Freddy Krueger - known as the Springwood Slasher - murdered several children with a glove outfitted with straight razor blades attached to the fingers. When a foolish decision by a judge sets him free, Krueger is burned alive in the boiler room where he worked by an angry mob of the parents whose children he terrorized & murdered. Years after his death, the children whose parents were responsible for Krueger's death - including Nancy Thompson, daughter of the police officer who arrested Krueger - are experiencing terrifying nightmares involving a burned man wearing a glove with razor blades on the fingers. The ghost of Freddy Krueger is haunting their dreams, and when Nancy's best friend Tina dies in her sleep violently during a dream confrontation with Krueger, Nancy realizes she must find a way to stop the evil psychopath's reign of terror - or never sleep again.. - imdb.com
Back in the early late 1970's to early 1980's, the "slasher flick" became a the new American genre of horror film. Usually, this type of horror flick has an formula of:
In Nightmare on Elm Street, the boogeyman is someone who attacks the kids in their sleep. The children all experience the same type of dream. They dream of the same man and their fear is real.
Freddy attacks whenever a person is asleep. This usually means at night which adds to the fear of those of us who are viewing the movie because we are most vulnerable when we are asleep. We have no control over what happens to us. Granted, in Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the movie shows that if you can control your dreams, you can control the outcome and the power. Plus, there are even more Nightmare movies after this, so no matter what this, the boogeyman keeps returning because his legend lives on. As long as his story is told, this legend will not die, no matter how many different ways he dies at the end of each movie. He will continue to be alive in myth and if someone believes and accepts he is real, he will be there to grow stronger through the fear.
For example, in New Nightmare (Nightmare on Elm Street 7), they made a new twist on Freddy. The writers of the story said that Freddy never happened. Nightmare on Elm Street was just that...a movie. However, Wes Craven, who was writing a new movie, wanted Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from the original) to come back and reprise her role. She was hesitant and didn't really want to, but she was experiencing dreams and phone calls from a strange person. When her husband mysteriously dies on the set of the new Elm Street movie her visions of Freddy are becoming more real. Although Freddy can't come into the "real" world, he is terrorizing not only her but her son (a sleep walker). She asks all of her old cast mates and even Wes for advice on what to do. What Wes says is that what Nancy needs to do is accept who she is and fight this monster that is the form of Freddy. When Heather finally accepts to play Nancy one last time, that is when Freddy (or the manifestation of evil) comes into the real world. Now her reality is turned back into the character of the movie. When she agreed to face the reality and her fear, she conquered her fear and destroyed the boogeyman.
- The Boogeyman (he is real in these movies but seems to stalk at night or in shadows)
- A lone person, usually female, who stands up to her fear, the boogeyman, to win the battle.
In Nightmare on Elm Street, the boogeyman is someone who attacks the kids in their sleep. The children all experience the same type of dream. They dream of the same man and their fear is real.
Freddy attacks whenever a person is asleep. This usually means at night which adds to the fear of those of us who are viewing the movie because we are most vulnerable when we are asleep. We have no control over what happens to us. Granted, in Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the movie shows that if you can control your dreams, you can control the outcome and the power. Plus, there are even more Nightmare movies after this, so no matter what this, the boogeyman keeps returning because his legend lives on. As long as his story is told, this legend will not die, no matter how many different ways he dies at the end of each movie. He will continue to be alive in myth and if someone believes and accepts he is real, he will be there to grow stronger through the fear.
For example, in New Nightmare (Nightmare on Elm Street 7), they made a new twist on Freddy. The writers of the story said that Freddy never happened. Nightmare on Elm Street was just that...a movie. However, Wes Craven, who was writing a new movie, wanted Heather Langenkamp (Nancy from the original) to come back and reprise her role. She was hesitant and didn't really want to, but she was experiencing dreams and phone calls from a strange person. When her husband mysteriously dies on the set of the new Elm Street movie her visions of Freddy are becoming more real. Although Freddy can't come into the "real" world, he is terrorizing not only her but her son (a sleep walker). She asks all of her old cast mates and even Wes for advice on what to do. What Wes says is that what Nancy needs to do is accept who she is and fight this monster that is the form of Freddy. When Heather finally accepts to play Nancy one last time, that is when Freddy (or the manifestation of evil) comes into the real world. Now her reality is turned back into the character of the movie. When she agreed to face the reality and her fear, she conquered her fear and destroyed the boogeyman.
Friday the 13th
In 1957, at Camp Crystal Lake, a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned. In 1958, two camp counselors were murdered. In 1962, fires and bad water thwarted the camp's reopening. Now, in 1979, Steve Christy finally reopens Camp Crystal Lake with the help of a few new counselors. Ignoring the warnings from a local wacko, the murders start once again while a mysterious stalker prowls the area. Is it Revenge that the killer is looking for? Who will survive the nightmare and live to tell the story? - imdb.com
In this movie, the Boogeyman is seen as force which stalks immoral camp counselors. Morality is a common thread in this genre. The Boogeyman tends to go after the immoral while the other people who live a relative pure and innocent life tend to make it out of the movie alive...USUALLY.
There are two (2) Friday the 13ths. I am not going to go into the detail of the 10 or 11 sequels since the original came out in 1980. As I stated, there are 2 Friday the 13ths. The original which was released in 1980 and the "remake" was released in 2009. There are huge differences between the two of them.
Friday the 13th came off the heels of the critically acclaimed Halloween. Sean S. Cunningham wrote and directed this movie. He wanted to make a movie that would make you scream but also have fun while watching it. The major difference in the 1980 version and the 2009 version is that in 1980 Jason Voorhees is not the killer. The 1980 version we see a rarity. The Boogeyman in question is not a man, but a woman: Jason's mother. She was so distraught that she wanted to punish all the camp counselors, because she saw them all as immoral people because they let her son drown. The counselors did not pay attention to Jason when he went swimming, nor did they care when other children teased him for being disfigured. In both versions, the towns people, (and for some reason when things take place in the woods, the towns people always have a country accent and seem like they are not the brightest bulb) know that there is a curse. They know about the legend of what happened with Jason. They know not to go into the woods, but when you have outsiders who think they know more and have little respect for the people who live there, these outsiders fail to heed the warnings, which leads to their demise. The boogeyman aspect is there again, with the lone person hunting the group of immoral teenagers/young adults. Someone always knows of the legend which makes the fear of the woods and the Boogeyman even more scary.
There are two (2) Friday the 13ths. I am not going to go into the detail of the 10 or 11 sequels since the original came out in 1980. As I stated, there are 2 Friday the 13ths. The original which was released in 1980 and the "remake" was released in 2009. There are huge differences between the two of them.
Friday the 13th came off the heels of the critically acclaimed Halloween. Sean S. Cunningham wrote and directed this movie. He wanted to make a movie that would make you scream but also have fun while watching it. The major difference in the 1980 version and the 2009 version is that in 1980 Jason Voorhees is not the killer. The 1980 version we see a rarity. The Boogeyman in question is not a man, but a woman: Jason's mother. She was so distraught that she wanted to punish all the camp counselors, because she saw them all as immoral people because they let her son drown. The counselors did not pay attention to Jason when he went swimming, nor did they care when other children teased him for being disfigured. In both versions, the towns people, (and for some reason when things take place in the woods, the towns people always have a country accent and seem like they are not the brightest bulb) know that there is a curse. They know about the legend of what happened with Jason. They know not to go into the woods, but when you have outsiders who think they know more and have little respect for the people who live there, these outsiders fail to heed the warnings, which leads to their demise. The boogeyman aspect is there again, with the lone person hunting the group of immoral teenagers/young adults. Someone always knows of the legend which makes the fear of the woods and the Boogeyman even more scary.
Halloween
On Halloween 1963, the small town of Haddonfield is shocked when six-year-old Michael Myers returns from trick-or-treating and for some unknown reason stabs his older sister to death and is found by his parents staring into space with the knife in his hand. Sent to a mental institution, Michael spends the next 15 years just sitting, still staring into space despite the best efforts of his Doctor, Dr. Samuel Loomis. Now, on October 30th 1978, something triggers Michael off and during a storm manages to steal a car from Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion (who was coming to take Michael to a court to keep him locked up) and goes back to Haddonfield where he steals a white mask. There, Laurie Strode, Michael's younger sister, finds that Michael is stalking her during the day (at school, at her home etc - but she doesn't know who he is.) As Dr. Loomis arrives and with the Sheriff frantically looks for Michael he doesn't know that Laurie is baby-sitting Lindsey and Tommy and that Laurie's friends Annie, Lynda and Bob are disappearing one by one.... - imdb.com
he 1978 version of Halloween is a classic. This is the original Boogeyman. He is the quiet stalker of victims. He never says a word but always gets his target. (If not in the first movie, definitely in the others to follow) . In this version, all we know is that little Michael Myers murdered his older sister one night after trick or treating, resulting in his incarceration in a mental institution for 15 years until he breaks loose to find his baby sister , Laurie, who has since been adopted by the Strode family.
Michael in the 1978 version is a man of mystery. We never really know his reasons for killing his family or his intention to finish his bloodline by going after Laurie. The only understanding we get is from Dr. Loomis, saying that Michael is pure evil and realizes that Michael believes the only way to end this pain is to kill the last remaining member of his family. All we know is that Michael is "insane and a sociopath". Albeit, a strong and brutal sociopath.
In the 2007 version of Halloween by Rob Zombie, Zombie gives us the story of Michael Myers' past. Unlike the original where Mike had a normal family in a middle class neighborhood, Rob Zombie makes Mike Myers come from a poor, low class abusive family. His mother is a dancer, his step father drinks too much, and his older sister acts inappropriately towards her family and with her boyfriend. Mike's childhood is filled with verbal and physical abuse from his older sister, step father and kids at school. The only one he seems to love is his mother, who treats him like he is an angel and his baby sister (Laurie).
We never see the actions that led Michael to become violent in the original, he just was. However as time and culture change, we tend to make the Boogeyman more human than something that is supernatural or a figment of our imagination. Therefore, when Rob Zombie made Mike Myers, he made sure to show us his terrible childhood and how this childhood of constant abuse can lead to one day the child just snapping and becoming a sociopath, that boogeyman who hunts his prey.
Michael in the 1978 version is a man of mystery. We never really know his reasons for killing his family or his intention to finish his bloodline by going after Laurie. The only understanding we get is from Dr. Loomis, saying that Michael is pure evil and realizes that Michael believes the only way to end this pain is to kill the last remaining member of his family. All we know is that Michael is "insane and a sociopath". Albeit, a strong and brutal sociopath.
In the 2007 version of Halloween by Rob Zombie, Zombie gives us the story of Michael Myers' past. Unlike the original where Mike had a normal family in a middle class neighborhood, Rob Zombie makes Mike Myers come from a poor, low class abusive family. His mother is a dancer, his step father drinks too much, and his older sister acts inappropriately towards her family and with her boyfriend. Mike's childhood is filled with verbal and physical abuse from his older sister, step father and kids at school. The only one he seems to love is his mother, who treats him like he is an angel and his baby sister (Laurie).
We never see the actions that led Michael to become violent in the original, he just was. However as time and culture change, we tend to make the Boogeyman more human than something that is supernatural or a figment of our imagination. Therefore, when Rob Zombie made Mike Myers, he made sure to show us his terrible childhood and how this childhood of constant abuse can lead to one day the child just snapping and becoming a sociopath, that boogeyman who hunts his prey.