The Bye Bye Man
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Laughably terrible horror movie has violence, sex.
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The Bye Bye Man
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Based on 11 parent reviews
My friend Dominic Cummings recommend this.
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What's the Story?
In THE BYE BYE MAN, three college students -- Elliot (Douglas Smith); his girlfriend, Sasha (Cressida Bonas); and his best friend, John (Lucien Laviscount) -- move into a creepy old house together. Strange things start happening, and a friend of theirs, psychic Kim (Jenna Kanell), picks up bad vibes. Elliot discovers a drawer in an old night table, covered in a scrawl that reads "don't think it, don't say it." He finds the name "The Bye Bye Man" underneath. From that moment on, things aren't the same. A mysterious monster starts getting inside the trio's heads, making them see and believe things and react in terrible ways. Before long, people start dying, and Elliot searches for a way to stop the awful cycle.
Is It Any Good?
Many horror movies are bad, but it's rare to find one that, like The Bye Bye Man, is so bad it's funny. Whether the problem was in the puzzling screenplay or in the production itself, something went dismally, hysterically wrong. The Bye Bye Man starts out deceptively fine, but it quickly evolves into a series of scenes in which characters who sound nothing like actual humans speak and interact with one another. Their conversations are weird, awkward, and often forced, pushing plot information on viewers. (Veteran actors like Faye Dunaway and Carrie-Anne Moss look positively lost in their supporting roles.)
The scary stuff -- borrowed heavily from Candyman, The Ring, Final Destination, and others -- is just as pathetic, despite Doug Jones portraying the title monster. The movie's combination of poor visual effects, shopworn horror techniques, and uninspired makeup make this feel like a castoff from a dusty video shelf. Bad movie fans may enjoy a laugh at the way the characters drive without looking at the road or at some really obvious, bad stereotyping. But most viewers won't even want to say "hello" to The Bye Bye Man.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Bye Bye Man's violence. Does it seem more or less intense than other horror movies? How does media violence impact kids?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of scary/monster movies?
Do the characters (or viewers) learn a lesson from what happens? How is the monster best dealt with? Who wins?
How is sex depicted in the movie? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
What is a "so bad it's good" movie? Does this one qualify?
Movie Details
- In theaters: January 13, 2017
- On DVD or streaming: April 25, 2017
- Cast: Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas
- Director: Stacy Title
- Inclusion Information: Black actors
- Studio: STX Entertainment
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 96 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: terror, horror violence, bloody images, sexual content, thematic elements, partial nudity, some language and teen drinking
- Last updated: April 6, 2023
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