BOO! (REVIEW)

Dir. Luke Jaden

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

If there is a film that needs a revival it's BOO! Only released in 2019 it has a measly low score if 3.6 on IMDb which is bad even for a horror film but my God, Luke Jaden's film is one to watch with the lights off and the volume on max. Not to be confused with the terrible comedies that are BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN series which deserve the rating instead here is a truly under appreciated movie.

After receiving a mysterious chain letter in Halloween, simple ignorance proves negligent as a family fall foul of a curse they should have avoided. BOO! is a more independent horror film that doesn't rely on budget and instead puts its resources into exactly what make a horror film a heart racing emotional rollercoaster. The opening scene is pure tension and as it unfolds the inevitable is played out put at a snails pace, dragging out the taut tension and begging to unravel itself as it eventually does. BOO! plays the long game but never out stays it's welcome, this is about immersion and it demands it.

The steady cast Jaden Piner, Aurora Perrineau, Jill Marie Jones and Rob Zabrecky provide a broken family who try to keep it together however after a fateful incident on Halloween night upsets the youngest, a series of catalytic events spiral to a haunting and satisfyingly shocking conclusion. There's something so chilling yet simple about BOO! that takes it back to basics and really hammers home what makes a truly brilliant horror film. A curse, a family set up and a downward spiral of madness accompanied by themes and echoes of true classics proving the love child of HALLOWEEN and IT FOLLOWS.

What carries this film is it's soundtrack. Jon Natchez really knows what he's doing as he slowly builds the tempo throughout giving innocent moments sheer terror. There's something simple about a sheet for a ghost but accompanied by the right sounds, there is nothing more terrifying (take HALLOWEEN as an eerie example). The film slowly builds to a horrific and frightening final chapter and really puts BOO! firmly in the top quarter of greatest horror films ever made, despite the scores in the doors.

I truly hope this film gets the respect it deserves over time because Luke Jaden has delivered a true classic horror. BOO! is one to truly keep on the shelf ready for Halloween night.