James L. Conway’s ‘The Boogens’ (1981) Turns 40 – Retro Review

When horror fans talk about little movie monsters from the ’80s, they most likely mention Gremlins, Critters, Ghoulies, or maybe even Hobgoblins. However, before any of those delightful mini-terrors ever graced the silver screen, we had The Boogens, subterranean, fanged, turtle-like creatures who dwell in the underground tunnels of a quiet Colorado mining town. That is, until their area of the mine is opened, unleashing the wrath of the killer creatures.

The Boogens was released on September 25, 1981. Filmed during a winter in Utah where temperatures reportedly dropped to -20 degrees at night, The Boogens manages to truly capture the feeling of helpless isolation movies such as The Thing (1982 – read our retro review here) and The Shining(1980) have been able to portray. Also, our four plucky leads are post-college instead of teenagers, which automatically sets this film apart from most other horror films of 1981. Perhaps not as successful as Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981 – read our retro review here) or as well-filmed as The Burning (1981 – read our retro review here), the film certainly possesses its own set of charming and endearing qualities. So without further ado, we present everything you should know about The Boogens.

• Most people assume the word “boogens” originates as an actual mining term because of the meaning of the word “gremlins.” However, the writers concocted the word just for the film, deriving from the word “boogeyman.”
• The sound of the creatures consists of a recording of a cat and dog fighting, reversed and slowed down.
• Anne-Marie Martin brings life to Jessica, a semi-local girl fresh out of college and horny as hell. She had just achieved success from Prom Night (1980), but appeared in that film under her actual name, Eddie Benson, before changing to her stage name. Also, she was married to Michael Crichton and cowrote the blockbuster film, Twister (1986).

• Despite the plural title, the population of boogens was actually one puppet.
• Filmed for $600,000, its budget was less than half that of Friday the 13th Part 2 and The Burning, both released the same year.
• Rebecca Balding (Trish) met director James L. Conway on the set of this film. Shortly after the film’s release, the two married and are still together today.

• Sadly, Fred McCarren (Mark) passed away at the age of 55 from colon cancer in 2006.
• This stands as the ONLY film where I actually wanted the dog to die. Tiger was a little shithead.