Yellowing newspaper articles fill us in on the tragic past of a silver mining town in Colorado. Cave-ins, disappearances and mysterious deaths lead to the abandonment of further digging and the permanent closing of the mines. Flash forward to the early eighties when dynamite blasts signal the grand reopening of the cursed labyrinth. Enter THE BOOGENS; tentacled, amphibian creatures responsible for all that previous hardship that are now free to return to their deadly ways. Two young couples learn the hard way that the local doom-saying oldster is not as crazy as he appears. In fact, he’s really the local authority on all subjects Boogen as his own personal pappy met his death via a Boogen bite many years ago. Slasher veterans REBECCA BALDING (SILENT SCREAM) and ANNE MARIE MARTIN (PROM NIGHT) star in this entertaining monster mash infused with slasher tropes that delivers authentic suspense while keeping the title creatures securely under wraps until the final reel. The unveiling of the creatures may disappoint those whose imagination painted the beings as something a tad more menacing than the turtle-faced hand puppets they actually are. Thanks to an atmospheric, snow covered, cozy log cabin setting and atypically likable, even endearing characters, it’s easy to forgive this low budget flick its few mostly financial limitations.

INDELIBLE SCENE(S):

• Tiger the poodle steals every scene
• Old man’s passive aggressive vandalism involves spray painting the word DEATH on the mine entrance
• The Boogens utilize the heating duct
• Jessica’s choice of objects to throw at the camera to thwart off Boogen attack includes empty tea kettle
• Jokester Jeff gets yanked under a truck