Miners Brian Deering (John Crawford) and Dan Ostroff (Med Flory) are re-opening a mine in Silver City, Colorad that collapsed nearly 70 years ago. With the assistance of Roger Lowrie (Jeff Harlan) and Mark Kinner (Fred McCarren), they manage to blow open the sealed off area and begin surveying the long abandoned tunnels. Meanwhile, Roger's girlfriend Jessica Ford (Anne-Marie Martin) and her best friend Trish Michaels (Rebecca Balding) are headed up to a cabin the foursome are renting for the winter, accompanied by Jessica's trouble-making dog Tiger. Unbeknownst to everyone but a crazy old man* (Jon Lormer), an ancient evil has been let loose by the explosion, and now the Boogens are free to terrorize Silver City again...The Boogens is actually a surprisingly good horror movie, considering that it has all but vanished from public consciousness. Most of the reviews online point out how viewers weren't expecting the film to be any good at all, only to be pleasantly entertained for 95 minutes. The truth is that while I was expecting a competent horror film, The Boogens does a fine job of setting up the characters, geography, and maintains tension for much of the film, even if at the expense of some serious plot holes (see below). The cast is uniformly good, if not a little goofy, and writers David O'Malley and Bob Hunt keep the audience invested in their plight. The Boogens is also helped by the fact that the creatures themselves are a presence felt more than seen.
To the credit of director James Conway, the monsters aren't visible until the film is nearly over, which helps add tension. Before we ever see what's killing people, the miners wander into their lair, which consists of an underground pond and a pile of human bones. By never seeing the threat, The Boogens disguises its biggest weakness: the Boogens. While I am tempted to spoil it and tell you what they look like, the Cap'n has a special contest in mind for Summer Fest, so I will instead say only that when you finally see a Boogen(?) that the lack of on-screen Boogen activity is actually a blessing. Not that the actual monster in action is silly, but its design makes no sense and they aren't really that scary. Because Conway spends much of the film with shots from the monster's POV or only giving brief glimpses, The Boogens is a more effective movie for it.
At one point I wondered aloud if The Boogens was actually what the monsters were called or if it was an arbitrary decision by the filmmakers in order to have a name for the film. Fortunately, just as I asked the old man muttered "Oh no... the Boogens...." which is the one and only time anyone at all in the film identifies them by name. In fact, as the crazy old man who only speaks during one scene is the sole character in the film who has an idea they exist in the first place, there isn't actually an explanation at all for what the Boogens are - the "exposition" scene so prevalent in this kind of film is limited to "I tried to warn you.... they were in the mines and you let them out... oh no.... the Boogens..."
(Minor Spoiler) I don't want to harp too much on the plot holes, but it doesn't actually make much sense that the tunnel that leads from the mine to the cabin would suddenly be unblocked by the explosion, allowing the Boogens to travel freely between their lair and the mine. They set up the idea that there are three tunnels on the other side of the cave-in, but the entrance in the cabin is never blocked so it's not really clear why the Boogens couldn't already wander around. Perhaps I ask too much of an otherwise enjoyable film.
There is a tiny side note I'd like to point out: if anybody is still questioning The House of the Devil's approach to recreating the early 1980s, please direct yourself towards any scene taking place in the cabin or in town during The Boogens. An early sequence with Landlady Martha Chapman (Marcia Reider) opening up the cabin before the kids (?) move in is particularly reminiscent of moments in The House of the Devil (well, vice-versa, I suppose), and while The Boogens isn't necessarily an "80s" film, it certainly represents the era Ti West evokes in his 2009 film. I also give it kudos for being made in the same year as My Bloody Valentine and yet not making me think of that film once, despite the mine-centric plot.
As far as I know, The Boogens is only available on VHS, with an occasional airing on Turner Classic Movies Underground, which adds to its "obscure horror movie" status. This is a shame, as I think The Boogens would make a fine "party" movie, as it's entertaining enough not to bore a crowd and silly enough to keep you invested in the proceedings. While by no means a "classic," The Boogens is nevertheless a bright spot in the wast wilderness of forgotten horror films.
* He's identified in the credits as Greenwalt, but I challenge you to find out where that information is in the actual story.
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