Mikey

Director - Dennis Dimster (The Living, Wicked Wicked Games)

Starring - Brian Bonsall (Blank Check, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Josie Bissett (Obituary, Deadly Vows), and Ashley Laurence (Lurking Fear, Hellraiser)

Release Date - 1992

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Remember, Jason and Freddie were kids once, too"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Being a movie fan isn't something I grew into.  I've grown up in front of the television with most of my life spent on my ass with something playing on the tube.  Video stores, HBO and Cinemax, and trading tapes with friends was a very huge part of my childhood.  If I like a movie I can often remember the first time I've watched it but sometimes I can't remember how I watched it.  When I was in middle school I remember watching the 1992 horror film Mikey.  I can't remember if it was on television or a rental but I remember watching the kid from Blank Check kill people.  Fast forward and a few months back my friends at MVD sent me the film on blu.  They recently released the movie as part of their MVD Rewind Collection and I couldn't wait to revisit it.  

     The film follows foster child Mikey (Bonsall) who recently killed his foster family and convinced the police that it was a mustached stranger.  The adoption agency, none the wiser, get him adopted again and Mikey really does come across as the perfect child.  His teacher starts to suspect something strange and when murders start happening around his family she gets the principal involved and the two uncover his dark past.  

     What makes Mikey and films like it so unnerving is that they are grounded and possible.  The last few months I've found myself listening to Weird Darkness on my drive to and from work and last weekend I was listening to an episode on killer kids.  Hearing the horrible acts these young serial killers commited was enough to make my stomach churn.  Now, after watching Mikey and knowing it could happen really makes it reach a whole new level of horror.  However, Mikey is just a well put together horror drama that works because it's so grounded and not over the top.  The acting in this one is solid but there is some scenes that were a little awkward to watch.  The overall film is very well acted with Bonsall and Laurence delivering the most memorable performances.  However, the more awkward to watch scenes feature Bonsall.  He is a very talented actor but there was a few occasions where he wasn't that convincing.  The story for this one isn't an over the top slasher or supernatural horror tale.  It's about a normal family with a foster child that happens to have a knack for murder.  There was several child murders in the late 80s and early 90s where the killer was a child so the story for this one pretty much writes itself.  It's not one that relies on typical horror tropes and let's the characters carry the film.  Finally, this one has some blood but that's not what drives the horror aspect of the film.  The deaths are the focal point but it's how and who they are that gets a rise out of the viewer.  Some blood here and there but those of you looking for a gory horror flick will be very disappointed.  Overall, Mikey is a fantastic early 90s horror drama that doesn't rely on your horror cliches to work.  The movie has that made for tv vibe that I kind of liked and the story really works.  The blu release looks solid.  The picture is an improvement over the DVD samples I've seen on YouTube but nowhere near the peak of what a blu can do.  I highly recommend checking this one out and adding it to your collection.