Say you're a typical Hollywood executive who's come across an idea for a movie based on the epitome of everyone's childhood fears: the Boogeyman. If you had all the money in the world to bring this film to life, would you craft a truly unsettling experience that might some day be considered a horror masterpiece? Or would you regurgitate something on the fly to make a quick buck? The makers of Boogeyman 3 chose the latter option,  which results in their film being the latest in a franchise that consistently overlooks its own potential. 

Carrying on a fine tradition of nubile horror leads, Erin Cahill plays Sarah, a college girl who could definitely be classified as damaged goods. In the months following her mother's untimely death, she's had an arduous trek to stability, one that becomes all the more difficult when a classmate hangs herself -- or so it seems. While officially declared a suicide, Sarah was unfortunate enough to see her pal's real killer: the Boogeyman, the nastiest of bedtime stories come to life. At first, Sarah blames her already fragile mental state, but after more friends start to disappear, the possibility that the Boogeyman is real becomes all the more likely. The trouble is that the Boogeyman thrives on rumor and reputation; the more Sarah tries to warn her friends, the stronger the spectre grows. With time running out and the Boogeyman becoming more powerful, it's up to Sarah to put an end to his otherworldy rampage before the entire student body suffers.

Even though I don't want to hate the Boogeyman movies, it's hard not to. Why? Because the filmmakers seize the perfect horror concept and slap it onto one sub-par picture after another. Boogeyman 3 actually starts out with a pretty good idea, for the Boogeyman is one of the most feared figures in human history. His mythical status could be used as thought-provoking alternative to simply having him rough up a bunch of moronic twentysomethings. But Boogeyman 3 wants to have its B-movie cake and eat it too, often sidestepping its ambitious themes in favor of some good old-fashioned gratuitous violence (along with its partner in crime, T&A). Unfortunately, the film has neither the drive nor the resources to muster anything more than a bare minimum of effort.

Simply put, the filmmakers didn't even try to create something the slightest bit frightening here. Boogeyman 3 emits a rather disheartening gurgle, one indicating the studio hasn't finished with this dead horse yet. Because this is a straight-to-DVD release, I didn't expect pristine production values, but it looks like a blood-spattered Lifetime Original Movie, one incredbly flat and devoid of atmosphere. For example, whenever supernatural shenanigans are afoot, director Gary Jones just flickers the lights on and off. The acting is bearable enough, but don't expect to root for the characters to make it through their many predictable and weakly-staged scares. Still, nothing compares to the sheer awfulness of the Boogeyman himself, who resembles a malnourished caveman more than the ghost to end all ghosts. 

Although Boogeyman 2 wasn't a fantastic film either, it at least tried to take the series in a more interesting direction. Boogeyman 3, on the other hand, brings the franchise right back to square one, which in this case means remaining content with churning out the most mediocre of modern ghost stories. 

MY RATING: * 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; not rated by MPAA.)