The Boogens, a simple and unpretentious monster movie, was a big breath of fresh air when it first appeared back in the slasher soaked early eighties. A group of likeable college students help two crusty old miners open up an abandoned mine. Too bad they don't know it was abandoned for good reason, the mines are infested with tentacled turtle like monsters that quickly escape and wreak havoc. I appreciate movies that at least try to build characters that can be cared about, as well as rely on our fear of them coming to harm to build real suspense as opposed to simply tossing buckets of grue around for a cheap thrill. The cast is quite good (young talent, Rebecca Balding where are you?! I was in LOVE, mixed with the usual sprinkling of seasoned character actors), as is the monster design. The Boogens is by no means a classic, but it remains an endearing enough success to be worth an occasional revisit by the monster movie enthusiast. Recommended.