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Coincidentally, this movie and my pet
rabbit have the same name, and without sounding too harsh, I would just
like to say that even though it had it's vague points of merit, the
movie is nowhere near as cool as my rabbit. Not that that's necessarily
a bad thing. Not much is cooler than my rabbit. She's pretty damn
awesome.
 Now that's out of the way, I can continue
on with my review. Boo could have been so very much more. I stand whole
heartedly for everything this movie attempted to do so much that I
nearly did a back flip when I read that it was set in a haunted
hospital. A few years back I lived next to an old nursing home/hospital
that was being gutted and renovated. It was built (or last renovated) in
the sixties. Trudging through there late at night with nothing but a
flashlight and a few friends was one of the scariest things I have ever
done. Unfortunately for the people making Boo, they just couldn't seem
to capture that creepiness. I'm not sure whether it was the lighting, or
the camera angles, but brace yourselves because I don't say this often -
it just didn't feel real enough.
The story itself was a little bland. Once
again, it had a great idea behind it, but felt poorly executed. Jessie,
a young teenage girl who lost her mother to cancer, is sensitive to
paranormal phenomena - specifically a phone call from her dead mother
every Halloween night. Much to the amusement of her so-called friends.
Said moronic friends have planned an expedition to the local haunted
hospital for some Halloween fun. Despite the fact that many kids may
have disappeared after trying the same thing in previous years, none of
our youths seem to harbour too much trepidation about their Halloween
plans. Jessie has a bad feeling about the place, but considering all her
friends do is rag on her about her psychic abilities and visions, none
of them take any notice of her. Against her better judgement, Jessie
heads inside with them.
 Meanwhile, a young man (I vaguely remember
him being a priest?) named Allan is looking for his sister Meg, whose
last known whereabouts was in the hospital with her friends. He tries to
enlist the help of Arlo Ray Baines, an action movie star turned police
officer who was a friend of his father, and seems to know more about the
hospitals sordid past than anyone else. After much whining from Allan,
Arlo agrees to help him, and they break in to the hospital via the
morgue across the street, which has an underground access tunnel.
Meanwhile, our other friends have realised
that once the doors close, the hospital doesn't let you out again.
Thinking that their friend Emmett who went in earlier to set up some
cheesy scares is responsible, they all think its funny and head up to
the dreaded third floor. Emmett, and his dog *cringe* are actually
already dead.
I'd like to go off on a tangent if I may,
and make it known that I can handle pretty much anything in a horror
movie. But the moment they hurt an animal, I usually get up and leave. I
haven't watched past the first segment in Campfire Tales, and probably
never will. At this stage watching Boo, I got up and walked out. Luckily
for this review, I returned about ten minutes later and decided to give
it another go, provided no one else's dog was murdered.
This is where things start to get fuzzy. We
learn that Jessie's boyfriend Freddy is a complete scumbag, and he's
having sex with her incredibly bitchy friend Marie, who personally I
would push off a bridge if she were my friend. Then we learn that anyone
who has been killed by the hospital ghost can have their body inhabited
by it, making you all gooey, disgusting and generally explosive. A giant
evil clown shows up, and then also explodes.
You can also be killed by being possessed,
tell tale signs of said possession include, but are not limited to, some
sort of weird blood /ectoplasm hybrid dripping down your forehead.
 Allan and Arlo find Allan's sister Meg, who
informs them that all her friends are dead and it all took place on the
3rd floor. The trio then meet up with Jessie and the others. Freddy
completely loses it, thinking that Allan and company are the living
undead, and somehow ends up with a gun in his hand. He then goes on to
shoot Marie in the head. No one really seems very bothered by this.
Freddy is the worst actor in the world.
They drag Marie's body away but it isn't
long before she's up and about terrorising them all, before exploding.
Once again, no one too bothered by the chain of events, and they move
on. Jessie's having all sorts of visions about a deranged patient, a
little girl and a vigilant nurse, along with her dying mother. This all
does tie together, but I'm not going to be a complete cow and give away
the whole movie.
I have yet to mention Kevin, who although a
nice guy, is a complete doormat and undeniable wuss. I'm not giving away
any spoilers by letting you all know that he is nothing more than
fodder.
I think I'll end it there, because my brain
is starting to hurt, and I still need to proofread this and make screen
caps. Like I said before - the idea is there, the premise is great, but
the execution is poor.
And apart from Dee Wallace Stone who is ten
shades of awesome, the acting is nothing short of deplorable. Ok, maybe
I'm generalising - Meg and Arlo were also okay, but the others *forehead
slap*. I appreciate that they all had a crack, gave it a good ol' try,
but they just didn't do it for me. The bad acting was highlighted even
further by bad dialogue and lack of reaction to anything going on around
them. I don't know a bout you guys, but I'd be a little shaken up if my
friends started dying around me thanks to some whacked out supernatural
force making everyone explode.
It's worth a look to make up your own mind,
provided you don't go into it expecting movie of the year.
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Year: 2005
