Every now and again we get a decent horror film that demands attention. Not because it is from a big studio or because it has some TV star, but because it remembers how to be a solid horror film. THE BYE BYE MAN is one of those films.

(Left to Right) Lucien Laviscount, Douglas Smith, Jenna Kanell, and Cressida Bonas in THE BYE BYE MAN

Elliot (Douglas Smith) is a collage student who has just moved into a house with his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) and best friend John (Lucien Laviscount). Things seem like a perfect fit at first though there are some insecurities floating around, typical twenty-something stuff. Trouble comes into paradise when they bring the furniture up from the basement. One of the pieces, an antique nightstand, makes its way into Elliot and Sasha’s room at her behest. Bad idea.

THE BYE BYE MAN

Elliot soon realizes that that there is writing inside : “Don’t say it, Don’t think it” You think he might stop right? Nope. Beneath the liner on the bottom of the drawer lies words carved into the wood. “The Bye Bye Man”. Just a phrase right? Wrong. That same night, Sasha’s friend Kim volunteers to do a cleansing. Feeling that was not enough, they sit down for a seance and Kim realizes that something is in the house.  Elliot lets the name slip and the curse gets going. The Bye Bye Man is coming for them all.

Douglas Smith inTHE BYE BYE MAN

This was such an original film. I won’t spoil any of it but to say that he doesn’t hurt you, you hurt yourself and others. THE BYE BYE MAN creates an interesting new mythology for an actual new horror character. It has been dry for years in that arena. His story is that of an albino that is lynched and dumped on a train. He returns when his name is spoken. That is the basic gist of it.

Douglas Smith in THE BYE BYE MAN

What I love about the film is that they don’t make films like this currently. It has a great horror character, not an unseen force or possessed kid. It’s sexy and features actual nudity. It’s graphic without being gratuitous. In short, it’s a hardcore horror film that lives up to the name. If you are missing horror that isn’t afraid to be what it is, the name you need to say is THE BYE BYE MAN.