31 Days of Horror- Day 6: The Bye Bye Man (2017)

(dir. Stacy Title)

STX Entertainment

*First time viewing

A group of college friends awaken a mysterious evil who gets closer every time they think or say his name.

The Bye Bye Man, loosely based off Robert Damon Schneck’s “The Bridge to Body Island” is conceptually interesting. The idea of an evil entity that can only be defeated when the very idea of him is purged, through the murder of others who also know its name, is ripe with horror potential. Ideas are treated like a virus, so that the thought and vocal spread of the Bye Bye Man’s name gives him to power to alter one’s perception with deadly results. Taken from that conceit, The Bye Bye Man could have been this generation’s A Nightmare on Elm Street and do for ideas what that earlier franchise did with dreams. The film begins simply enough, with Elliot (Douglas Smith) moving into an off-campus house with his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) and best friend, John (Lucien Laviscount). When Elliot discovers mysterious coins in his nightstand, he finds the name The Bye Bye Man carved into the wood, which leads him into an investigation into its origins. As his relationships begin to crumble over jealousy, it becomes clear that the Bye Bye Man is altering his reality. There’s no clear answer as to why the Bye Bye Man is doing this, other than to just being a dick and screw with college kids, and there’s no consistency to waking nightmares. There are instances where the Bye Bye Man causes the death of characters when his survival seems predicated on the very fact that these characters need to live to pass on the idea of him to others. The result is an interesting concept developed into a rough draft idea of a film.

PG-13 horror rarely works, but it occasionally surprises. The Bye Bye Man goes so far out of its way for a PG-13 that the horror becomes laughable. Shotgun blasts are bloodless and leave grey smudges on walls, and a for a film built around a collapsing romantic relationship, it’s an entirely chaste affair. Devoid of illicit behavior or visceral acts of violence, The Bye Bye Man can’t even coast off of shock value. Ultimately, the film is a woeful mess of inconsistent rules, empty scares, dull characters, and performances that leave a lot to be desired. Even brief supporting roles by Carrie-Ann Moss, and fascinatingly Faye Dunaway, can’t elevate the film above being one of the worst of the year.

Scare Factor: 0/5 The Bye Bye Man won’t even make your pulse quicken. Tedious, and poorly constructed, The Bye Bye Man wastes a good concept on what feels like a rush job.