Yesterday I took myself to see The Bye Bye Man.
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
The Bye Bye Man movie poster
This horror /thriller movie, based on the chapter “The Bridge to Body Island” in Robert Damon Schneck’s book The President’s Vampire, was directed by Stacy Title and written by Jonathan Penner and opened on Friday, January 13th.
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
I love movies. I love seeing them in the theater. I wish the theater sold dark chocolate M&Ms…but peanut had to do.
I was the only one in the theater. I love when that happens.
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
Overall, I enjoyed the movie.
Scary? Well, creepy definitely. A bit disturbing. Some good images. Nothing that made me swear aloud. Nothing that will trigger any new fears or haunt me in the dark.
I went in expecting to watch teens die one by one by the monster they unknowingly call. Say Bloody Mary three times while looking in a mirror…wait to die. Sing the Crooked song…wait to die. Watch the video…wait to die.
Say the Bye Bye Man…wait to die.
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
Elliot, Sasha, and John call the Bye Bye Man, they say his name and their world goes a little wonky. They see things that aren’t there. They lose time. Do things they don’t remember doing. It’s a bloody good time. Not a lot of story, but lots of running and screaming and strangeness. So many little details that I would love to be all tied together… the train, the coins, the drawings, the dog…yeah. Of course, the end…or does it end?
However, at some point during the show, my mind latched onto a bit of a meaty center in this film. Something to chew on. I found myself thinking about it on the way home.
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
Ideas.
That’s what the Bye Bye Man is…an idea. One filled with hate. One filled with fear. One driven to kill.
An idea. A mere thought, a sequence of unrealized pictures and unspoken words. It comes to life when we say it aloud and it becomes real, then spreading, from one person to the next, uncontrollable. Ideas can dig deep into a mind to the point where it sticks, possibly sparking fear or doubt, two of the scariest things.
It comes down to this…
Don’t think it…
Don’t say it…
Can you kill an idea?
I don’t know.
Maybe they always leave a trace, footprints, a scrap of thought that waits to wrap itself around the mind of an unwilling mind.
Ideas are powerful. Once they get in your head, they won’t leave. They can hurt, cutting deep into who we are.
I would love to know the origin on The Bye Bye Man. When did the idea start and why? Death follows this stranger in a hooded coat. WHY? (He was pretty cool, not enough screen time for the Bye Bye Man.) There’s a story there. Someone should write it.
Reminder…join me tonight for the live-tweet of The Conjuring.
The Conjuring movie cover
Turn the lights out. Grab the snacks. Press play at 9 EST. Add your comments to #TheConjuring.