The Bye Bye Man
The Bye Bye Man | |
---|---|
Directed by | Stacy Title |
Written by | Jonathan Penner |
Starring | |
Cinematography | James Kniest |
Edited by | Ken Blackwell |
Music by | The Newton Brothers |
Distributed by | STX Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $7.4 million[2][3] |
Box office | $16.6 million[3] |
The Bye Bye Man is a 2017 American horror thriller film directed by Stacy Title and written by Jonathan Penner, based on the chapter "The Bridge to Body Island" in Robert Damon Schneck's book The President's Vampire. The film stars Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Doug Jones, Carrie-Anne Moss, Faye Dunaway and Jenna Kanell. Principal photography began on November 2, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. STX Entertainment released the film on January 13, 2017. While the film received negative reviews, it has grossed $16 million on a budget of $7.4 million.
Plot
Three college students move into an old, off-campus house, where they find themselves hunted by a supernatural entity called The Bye Bye Man who may be responsible for possessing various people and causing them to commit killing sprees throughout recent history. The students discover the origins of The Bye Bye Man and find that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don't say or think his name, because once The Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control.
Cast
- Douglas Smith as Elliot[4]
- Lucien Laviscount as John[4]
- Cressida Bonas as Sasha[4]
- Doug Jones as The Bye Bye Man[4]
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Detective Shaw[5]
- Faye Dunaway as Widow Redmon
- Michael Trucco as Virgil[6]
- Cleo King as Mrs. Watkins[5]
- Jenna Kanell as Kim[5]
- Erica Tremblay as Alice[5]
Production
On September 11, 2014, TWC-Dimension acquired the worldwide distribution rights of the supernatural thriller film The Bye Bye Man, which Jonathan Penner adapted from "The Bridge to Body Island", a chapter in Robert Damon Schneck's non-fiction book The President's Vampire.[7] "The Bridge to Body Island" tells an allegedly true story that was related to Schneck.
Stacy Title would direct the film, which Intrepid Pictures would produce its founder Trevor Macy.[7] On June 23, 2015, Los Angeles Media Fund came on board to finance and co-produce the film.[8] Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman would also produce the film through LAMF.[8] On November 4, 2015, STX Entertainment acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film, and it would also co-finance the film.[9] David Prior also adapted the book along with Penner. Melinda Nishioka is a co-producer of the film.[9]
Principal photography on the film began on November 2, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio,[4][10] and wrapped on December 11, 2015.[11]
Release
The Bye Bye Man was released on January 13, 2017.[12] It had originally been scheduled to release on October 14, 2016, before being moved up to June 3, 2016, and later back to December 9, 2016.[13][14]
Box office
As of January 15, 2017[update], The Bye Bye Man has grossed $13.4 million in the United States and Canada and $1.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $14.7 million, against a production budget of $7.4 million.[3]
In North America the film was released alongside Monster Trucks and Sleepless, as well as the wide releases of Silence, Patriots Day and Live by Night, and was expected to gross around $10 million from 2,220 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It ended up opening $13.4 million, finishing above expectations and 5th at the box office.[15]
Critical response
The Bye Bye Man received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 28% based on 47 reviews with an average rating of 3.7/10.[16] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 35 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[18]
The A.V. Club said, "on top of the general hoariness, this is also an uncommonly, at times unbelievably inept movie; from its acting to its script to most of its technical aspects, it feels barely fit for the big screen. The Bye Bye Man is so bad, in fact, that it retroactively improves the half-assed Hollywood horror that it’d be lucky to better resemble."[19] Kalyn Corrigan, writing for Bloody Disgusting, said the film had "poorly developed characters", a "muddled mythology", and "horribly shoddy editing" ultimately giving the film a 2/5 rating.[20] Jake Dee for JoBlo.com said "in a room full of 200 or so public patrons, the film drew far more auditory laughs than terrified gasps" and awarded it a 3/10 rating.[21]
References
- ^ "The Bye Bye Man (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ a b "Mark Wahlberg's 'Patriots Day' and 'La La Land' to battle 'Hidden Figures' for box office win". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c "The Bye Bye Man (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e McNary, Dave (September 24, 2015). "Doug Jones Starring in Horror-Thriller 'Bye Bye Man'". variety.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c d A. Lincoln, Ross (November 20, 2015). "'The Bye Bye Man' Says Hi To Carrie-Anne Moss, Faye Dunaway". Deadline. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ McNary, Dave (November 11, 2015). "Michael Trucco Joins Horror-Thriller 'The Bye Bye Man'". variety.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Siegemund-Broka, Austin (September 11, 2014). "TWC-Dimension Picks Up Horror Thriller 'The Bye Bye Man' for Worldwide". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (June 23, 2015). "Intrepid Pictures Supernatural Thriller 'Bye Bye Man' Finds Funding From Los Angeles Media Fund". deadline.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Busch, Anita (November 4, 2015). "STX Says Hello To Horror Flick 'The Bye Bye Man'". deadline.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "On the Set for 11/6/15: Emily Blunt and Luke Evans Start 'Girl on the Train', Brad Pitt Wraps 'Lost City of Z'". ssninsider.com. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "On the Set 12/11/15: James Franco and Seth Rogen Start 'The Disaster Artist', Owen Wilson & Ed Helms Wrap 'Bastards'". ssninsider.com. December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
- ^ "'Bye Bye Man' Release Date Shifted Again By STX Entertainment". Deadline. April 21, 2016.
- ^ "STX Thriller 'Bye Bye Man' Moved Up for June Release". Variety. March 11, 2016.
- ^ "STX Shifts Release Dates For 'Bye Bye Man' & 'The Space Between Us'". Deadline. September 15, 2016.
- ^ "'Hidden Figures' Stays Smart, But Why Are So Many Movies Bombing Over MLK Weekend?". Deadline.com.
- ^ "The Bye Bye Man (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ^ "The Bye Bye Man reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
- ^ A.A. Dowd. "No, you seriously shouldn't think about The Bye Bye Man—or see it, for that matter". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Corrigan, Kalyn (January 13, 2017). "[Review] 'The Bye Bye Man' — The "Why Why Was This Made Man"". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- ^ Dee, Jake (January 13, 2017). "The Bye Bye Man (Movie Review)". JoBlo.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
External links
- 2017 films
- 2017 horror films
- 2010s supernatural films
- American films
- American supernatural horror films
- English-language films
- Films based on short fiction
- Films directed by Stacy Title
- Films shot in Cleveland
- Films set in the 1990s
- Films set in Wisconsin
- Huayi Brothers films
- Intrepid Pictures films
- STX Entertainment films