From what we can gather from this trailer, and the one that came out back in April, the Bye Bye Man is some sort of supernatural malevolent being who is activated when you say, or even think, his name. (Apologies for dooming you just now.) The apparition, played by Doug Jones, appears to enjoy skulking in shadows, photobombing family snapshots, and trying on people’s clothes while they sleep. If only that was all he was interested in: Unfortunately, he’s also the inspiration for all, or at least most, of the random awfulness in the world. So anytime somebody murders their family or steps in front of moving train, you can assume the Bye Bye Man was probably involved somehow.
Horror films rely almost exclusively on execution (pun mildly intended), and The Bye Bye Man actually looks pretty creepy. Directed by Stacy Title (Snoop Dogg’s Hood Of Horror) from a screenplay by her husband Jonathan Penner (Survivor survivor and co-writer of The WB’s unsuccessful 2003 pilot for The Lone Ranger), it looks like it has the potential to transcend its multitudinous horror tropes. Douglas Smith (Big Love) stars as the troubled lead who’s trying to figure out what’s happening to him, with Carrie-Anne Moss (Jessica Jones) and Faye Dunaway (Mommie Dearest) co-starring as people who likely doubt him and almost certainly end up dead.
The Bye Bye Man will lurk ominously in theaters everywhere starting January 13.