Don’t believe those lies your parents fed you about there being no such thing as the “Boogeyman.” He’s real, and he’s definitely creepy as you think he’d be. When little Timmy Jensen witnesses his father getting kidnapped by the terrible Boogeyman, he spends the rest of his life trying to prove to himself he hadn’t seen anything, leading him to develop a vicious fear of closets. To escape his fears, Timmy moves away, hoping never to return.

But now, Boogey’s back, and he’s looking to expand his collection. Tim (played by Barry Watson) is forced to face his haunting past and go back to the place where it all started-the dreaded closet.

I can understand that in order to rise above your fears, you must stand up to them, look them in the eyes and prove yourself the boss of the situation. But who, in their right mind, would return to an old creaky house at night, with no electricity, out in the middle of nowhere, by themselves? Only a poor city boy with nothing to lose. What happens next is a blending of suspense with loud, frightening sound effects and a brutal attack by a wire hanger. The movie is rated PG-13, however, so the attack isn’t as gruesome as it sounds.

Will he ever overcome the unfathomable secrets of the manlike creature lurking in the dark? Maybe, but not without meeting the lost souls of grey-ghost children, the putrid memories lying within his childhood house, and, of course, the crazy zombie mother.

If you insist on watching this cliché flick, it’s better to hit the matinee or wait until it comes out on DVD. The surround sound in the theatre will give you a couple of cheap thrills with unexpected jolts and screams, but for its random and prolonged shocker moments, I wouldn’t recommend spending $10 on it.