10 Horror Films That Wasted Their Villain
2. The Bye Bye Man - The Bye Bye Man
The titular antagonist of 2017's largely ignored horror film The Bye Bye Man touts a classic hook braced somewhere between Candyman and Freddy Krueger - a demonic boogeyman who is only able to exist by people thinking or saying his name.
In that respect the Bye Bye Man is rather like a virus, and as we all now know better than ever, human beings are rather adept at propagating viruses.
Played with sly creepiness by brilliant creature performer Doug Jones, there's a ton of potential here, all of which evaporates amid the unintentionally comical writing, direction, and acting.
After all, this is a film where one character asks another the hilariously, immortally awful question, "What do you think I am, a flashlight?"
Interest soon enough dries up when it becomes clear there aren't any smart ideas beyond the initial setup.
Rather than actually explore the Bye Bye Man's backstory with any depth, it just devolves into a series of undercooked, over-familiar scare-pieces.