Boo! A Madea Halloween

Director - Tyler Perry (Meet the Browns)
Starring - Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis (The PJs), and Patrice Lovely (A Madea Christmas)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Trick or treat, fools"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've never been a fan of the Madea films.  I can see their appeal but I've never been able to watch them and laugh.  I grew up on films like the Nutty Professor and Big Mama so one would think the Madea series would be a huge hit for me.  I watched two of Tyler Perry's Madea films to date and both were miserable experiences for me.  However, when I saw the trailer for Boo! I was hooked.  The film looked so fucking fun and the perfect Halloween treat.  When the movie hit blu not long ago I reached out for a review copy and they were kind enough to send one my way.

     The film follows Brian (Perry) who has a teenage daughter that is catching looks from the local fraternity.  He has to leave for the night and fears that his daughter will sneak out of the house to attend the frats costume party.  He calls in Madea and her crew to watch her while he is away.  This only infuriates his daughter who sets out to scare Madea so bad that she leaves.  The plan almost works but Madea learns that she is working with the frat boys she gets revenge.
   
     People ask me how I can hate on the Madea movies.  I can give them a laundry list of reasons but my biggest complaint is that they are boring.  My god, are they boring.  Boo! was absolutely no exception.  The acting in this one is fun.  Perry has built quite the library of fun characters and the cast has a lot of fun portraying them.  Sadly, in this setting these characters feel out of place.  The story for this one has so much potential but it is wasted.  the trailer made me believe that the film was filled with creatures that go bump in the night.  The film does have a few horror scenes that miss their mark due to the context they are in.  The remainder of the film moves at a snails pace.  Finally, the film has some solid practical effects.  No blood or gore but the zombies and clowns look fantastic even though they lost all credibility.  Overall, Boo!: A Madea Halloween was a huge let down.  They had all the elements to make a classic Halloween comedy like Ernest Scared Stupid but dropped the ball.  Skip it.