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MARCH 16 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : THE BOOGENS (1981)
In 1888, one of the biggest veins of silver was found in the mountains of (the aptly named) Silver City. For nearly 24 years, the silver-rich mines put Silver City on the map, making it one of the richest cities in the United States. But then, in 1912, a series of cave-ins, the loss of dozens of miner's lives and reports of mysterious attacks caused the mines to be shut down for good, or at least everyone thought. Cut to the present (well, 1981 anyway), where mine experts Brian Deering (John Crawford; THE SEVERED ARM - 1973) and Dan Ostroff (Med Flory; THE HEARSE - 1980), along with their best workers, Mark Kinner (Fred McCarren) and Roger Lowrie (Jeff Harlan), open the Silver City mine to take a cursory look and report on its condition. While Dan checks the stability of the wood support beams and nearly causes a cave-in (Mark: "You smell anything?" Roger: "No, why?" Mark: "I just shit my pants."), Mark and Roger string-up lights and set up the generator to get a clearer view of the inside of the mine. Brian and Dan use dynamite to clear an obstruction in the mine and everyone calls it a day, but long-time Silver City resident (it isn't much more than a ghost town now, with a few residents, a bar and a restaurant to sustain it) old man Greenwalt (Jon Lormer) knows that the dynamite blast has just released an evil sitting dormant since 1912. That night, resident Martha Chapman (Marcia Reider) crashes her car into a snow bank after nearly hitting a deer (she has a bumper sticker on the back of her car that says "I Brake For Animals") and ends up walking to the house that she is getting ready for Mark and Roger to live in while they work the mine. She goes down to the basement to retrieve some supplies because she is going to have to spend the night since she can't get a tow truck until morning, but she's never going to live that long. After hearing a noise in the basement and then going to sleep in one of the bedrooms, she hears the noise again and investigates, but something grabs her in the kitchen and drags her down to the basement. Dan, Mark and Roger clear a cave-in in a section of the mine that is not on their map and discover a natural cavern, complete with lake and the bones of at least thirty people, all stacked in a pile on one side of the lake. Meanwhile, Roger's girlfriend Jessica (Anne-Marie Martin; SAVAGE HARVEST - 1981), her best friend Trish (Rebecca Balding; SILENT SCREAM - 1980) and pet poodle Tiger arrive at the house for a three day visit and make themselves comfortable. When Trish is unable to get hot water for a bath, she (gulp!) goes down to the basement to light the pilot on the hot water heater, but she is saved from certain death when Tiger chases her upstairs (the dog knows something is wrong). While Roger and Jessica are trying to have sex (a running joke throughout the film has Roger and Jessica being constantly interrupted while trying to do the deed), Mark and Trish get to know each other and hit it off. They are paid a visit by Deputy Blanchard (Scott Wilkinson), who is looking for Martha and when they all tell the Deputy they haven't seen her, the foursome decide to go out for dinner, where Jessica hustles Brian and Dan at pool and Roger goes to the house by himself because he has to get up early to pick up updated maps in another city. Roger is killed by one of the creatures when its clawed tentacles slash him across his neck and drags him away (this is the first time we even see a part of the creatures). To make a long story short (and not give away the manner of the other deaths), Trish, who is a reporter, does some digging in the Silver City newspaper archives and discovers that old man Greenwalt is the son of the only survivor of the 1912 cave-in and has seen the creatures, but no one believed him. In the finale, only Mark and Trish are alive and they are stuck in the mines fighting the creatures with the only weapon that will do any good: dynamite. This is actually a pretty taut and suspenseful horror film, directed by James L. Conway (HANGAR 18 - 1980; EARTHBOUND - 1981; and plenty of episodic American TV, including SUPERNATURAL) and written by David O'Malley (ZONE OF THE DEAD - 1978) and Bob Hunt (a pseudonym for director/screenwriter Jim Kouf; GANG RELATED - 1997), that contains personable characters rather that stereotypical ones (the acting here is much better than most low-budget horror fare), so when they are killed or put in peril, we actually care (Hell, even the dog is good here!). Director Conway rightfully doesn't reveal the creatures in all their glory until the film's finale (think sharp-toothed turtles with clawed tentacles), rather offering the viewer the creatures' POV shots and some rather nasty clawed tentacle attacks. This is by no means a gore film, so those looking for plenty of blood and guts are bound to be disappointed. THE BOOGENS actually harkens back to those 50's monster flicks, only with a little nudity (it's more funny than erotic), more violence and is wonderful entertainment for those in the mood for a good creepy creature feature. Recommended. Producer Charles E. Sellier Jr. was also responsible for those memorable 70's Schick Sunn Classic "documentaries" such as THE MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS (1976), IN SEARCH OF NOAH'S ARK (1976; also directed by Conway), IN SEARCH OF HISTORIC JESUS (1979) and many others. Originally released on VHS by Republic Pictures Home Video and still awaiting a proper DVD release (there are plenty of bootlegs floating around). Rated R. { text from critcononline.com }
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