Wednesday Review - The Bye Bye Man

The Bye Bye Man is what happens when good ideas happen to bad directors.  The idea of a supernatural figure who spreads himself like a virus to anyone who merely knows his name is indeed scary.  The chant “Don’t think it, don’t say it” even manages to have a decent ring to it, and does start to sound creepy after a while.  Furthermore, even with some of the obvious CGI, there are some genuinely creepy visuals in this movie. That said, however, this movie falls flat.

I don’t want to say there’s no talent here.  The main character is played by a decent actor, and the director does show a talent for visuals.  I’d also note that pretty much all the jump scares are created by the actual villain.  There’s nary a cat leaping-out to scare our protagonist.

What brings the film down, however, is a weak script and a bad supporting cast.  We not only get exposition spouted out (“I’m a college student, who wants to get married and have kids like my older brother who I admire!”), much of it is delivered in a dull monotone.  Not that they have much to work with, mind you.  When one of the main characters was revealed as a murderer it took me a few minutes to even grasp what had been revealed.  And while the underacting is partially to blame, the main character’s reaction is so weak that I’m fairly certain there was no indication of greater distress from the script or director.

I suspect The Bye Bye Man himself had much of his role cut out.  He’s given very specific motifs: dog, train, coins.  That, combined with his sloppy dress, hints to me that he’s the ghost of some kind of hobo or drifter.  We’re never given any information, however.  Just that he’s a being who can cause you to go insane once you hear the name “The Bye Bye Man.”

There are also sporadic flashbacks to 1969, and the BBMs previous appearance.  This likely tied into his backstory at some point, as the entire sequence feels cut short.  It tells us very little we don’t learn in the main, present-day, story.  The Bye Bye Man attacked people once before, his name was written down to be discovered in the future, and now he’s back.

So, do I recommend this movie?  I recommend spending enough money on it to justify a prequel, set in 1969, and giving us the history of the BBM.  I also recommend it if you want a few creepy visuals, and some laughably awful moments.  I can see this movie lasting for a while as a cult feature.