The Bye Bye Man

First thing you need to know is the acting is bad. At times it's alright, at times it's awful, and at times I cringed. The plot of the movie is not bad, no one really has addressed this but this is easily the only thing that kept my interested throughout. Not a new idea by any means, but the psychological aspect of the movie kept me entertained. The directing was good. Some shots were pretty cool and some jump scares were actually clever. Depending on how you look at it, one of the jump scares was either a rip off or was inspired by a James Wan jump scare. The movie had the potential to be good and they just dropped the ball. Some people have mentioned how the shot gun deaths were one of the reasons it was a "bad" movie. These people are over dramatic. That scene, while head scratching is not going to ruin the movie. Though, it's what they had to do it seems to keep a PG-13 rating based off rumors I'm seeing/reading. If you are a fan horror, go into this movie with low expectations. If you are not a fan of horror, don't watch this movie.

The Bye Bye Man is an evil reaper who haunts those who say his name, plaguing them with visions, feeding off their fear, getting closer and closer until they can bear it no more. So, part Freddy Krueger, part Bloody Mary, part The Babadook, and part Candyman, with that entity from It Follows thrown into the mix for good measure. Clearly, there's very little originality on offer here. This probably wouldn't be such a big issue if director Stacy Title had managed to conjure up lots of effective scares or deliver some gross out gore, but her film is light on fright and strictly PG-13 when it comes to content.

The plot is also very sketchy in terms of exposition: who is the Bye Bye man? Where does he come from? What is his purpose? Why does he hang around with a poorly rendered CGI dog? Is he a metaphor for mental illness or the product of mass hysteria? (or is that expecting too much from a popcorn horror aimed at a teen audience?). Just a few of the questions that the film fails to answer. Perhaps these issues will be dealt with in a sequel, but I won't be in a hurry to find out. I'm happy to say 'bye bye' to The Bye Bye man. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

What has happened to this genre? Years ago it seemed a similar type of film would be hitting the big screen on an almost bimonthly basis, now when we get a horror, it always feels as if something is missing somehow.

The Bye Bye Man begins well enough, and has a fairly interesting concept, trouble is the direction is so poor, it fails almost entirely to so the basic premise of a film, and tell a story, it's lazy somehow, we get no backstory, no real conclusion, and certainly no real tension.

The acting was fair I guess, but none of the cast were treated well in terms of script.

Overall, a total disappointment, some wonderful ideas, just badly realised, and way too predictable, you always seem to know what's coming next. 4/10

If you like horror flicks in general & do not have huge aspirations of seeing a Silence of the Lambs or Halloween or even The Ring or Strangers, you will probably enjoy The Bye Bye Man. It's worth watching though not very memorable as nothing really makes it stand out from the run of the mill horror flicks.

The story: 3 college kids move into an off campus house & quickly discover a night stand with a cryptic verse written over & over, "Don't think it, don't say it". Yes, of course, we all know right away what it is they can't think or say, it's "The Bye Bye Man". Say that & you're history! Sounds like The Candy Man, right?? Or kinda like The Ring (if you watch it you will die). Not only will you die if you say it but anyone who heard you say it is also a dead man or lady. Nothing new here. I must say the acting cold have been better but overall, I still liked it. Then again, I like most horror flicks more than most do so take my opinion for what it is.

Like some other reviewers said, I could not understand how the IMDb score at this time is 4.3. but there were so many 1 star ratings in the written reviews. This horror movie deserves 5 stars, which makes it worth watching if you are a horror fan. IMDb users note, horror movies rarely get above 6 stars, its just how people vote in this entire genre. A 7 in a real horror movie, is like "gone with the wind" or "citizen kane" level classic (lol). Anyways, back to the review.

This movie has a good premise, good rules for the supernatural critter to follow, real unease and dread, even among the "authority" support characters, and a few good scares. The CGI budget is low, and it DOESN'T MATTER, as it might in some other movie.

And I don't just mean it is good for an indie, it is just plain good (if you are a horror fan).