The Bye Bye Man

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The Bye Bye Man

PG-13

2017

1h 36m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

19%

Tomatometer

94 Reviews

22%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

People commit unthinkable acts every day. Time and again, we grapple to understand what drives a person to do such terrible things. But what if all the questions we're asking are wrong? What if the cause of all evil is not a matter of what, but who? When three college friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don't think it, don't say it. But once the Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control.

Critics Consensus

The Bye Bye Man clumsily mashes together elements from better horror films, adding up to a derivative effort as short on originality as it is on narrative coherency or satisfying scares.

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K. Austin Collins

The Ringer

08/10/2017

There's an art to being bad. The Bye Bye Man hasn't studied that art - but it's good enough to get you going.

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Leah Pickett

Chicago Reader

01/19/2017

The script teems with horror clichs (scribbled drawings, a creepy kid, the skeptical protagonist looking up the demon's origins on a library computer), and everything from the acting to the makeup to the special effects is atrocious.

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Clark Collis

Entertainment Weekly

01/14/2017

C

Maybe all will be explained in the sequel. If so, your writer is happy to remain uneducated.

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David Day

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 18

5/10

What can be said about this extremely average film? Maybe you shouldn’t see it or think about it, but in all honesty, if you have some family that likes bad slashers, you should probably see this film on Netflix right now.

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 18

2/10

We knew it would be bad going in, but ugh, it was rough anyway. The major flaw in this movie is that the writers were so enamored with the concept of “Don’t think it, Don’t say it” that they forgot to include an actual plot in the movie.

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Bill Chambers

Film Freak Central

03/03/2022

1/4

Is it possible The Bye Bye Man is actually a genre spoof?

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juan F.

@argentivago Feb 22

Solo voy a decir bye bye man

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Claudio C

@Claudio666 Feb 2

Don't Think It, Don't Say It (12,248 – 01 Feb 2026 – Claudio Carvalho) Elliot, his girlfriend Sasha and their friend John rent an old house in the countryside and leave the dormitory. Weird things happen in the house and Elliot finds a paper written in a drawer "Don't Think It, Don't Say It." He removes the paper and on the drawer is written "The Bye Bye Man". They give a party and their friend Kim make a séance, and the skeptical Elliot mentions The Bye Bye Man, unleashing an evil entity that terrifies the group. Now they lose notion of what is real and need to protect each other. "The Bye Bye Man" (2017) is an underrated American horror movie, with the story of an evil entity that is unleashed when the person says his name or thinks on him. The story and the plot are not bad, and the cast has the cameo of Faye Dunaway and Carrie-Anne Moss. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Nunca Diga Seu Nome" ("Never Say His Name") My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/

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Jason W

@RT21899927 Dec 28

Decent flick with some familar horror movie names like Doug Jones (creature actor from numerous box office hits), Leigh Whannell (Saw/Insidious), Jenna Kanell (Terrifier), Michael Trucco (Hush) and Douglas Smith (Santas Slay) in the lead. Not sure why this gets the hate it seems to get, I've definitely seen many, many terrible horror films way below this one. Is it a classic or masterpiece? No, but it's a fun, popcorn flick to throw on. Acting works, production is great, story is fine for what it is.

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Hunter E.

@RT66001215 Dec 12

Almost so bad, it’s good. Almost.

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MaryAnn M.

@MWAMD Sep 26

Bye bye man is predictable. It’s okay

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J1gsaw P.

@j1gsawpupp3t Jul 26

More about this flick can be found in my podcast via Spotify “The Underground Podcast”

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Stacy Title

Director

Douglas Smith

Elliot

Lucien Laviscount

John

Cressida Bonas

Sasha

Doug Jones

The Bye Bye Man

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The Bye Bye Man: Trailer 2

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The Bye Bye Man: Trailer 1

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The Bye Bye Man: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

People commit unthinkable acts every day. Time and again, we grapple to understand what drives a person to do such terrible things. But what if all the questions we're asking are wrong? What if the cause of all evil is not a matter of what, but who? When three college friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don't think it, don't say it. But once the Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control.

Director: Stacy Title
Producer: Trevor Macy, Jeffrey Soros, Simon Horsman
Screenwriter: Jonathan Penner
Distributor: STX Entertainment
Production Co: Intrepid Pictures, Los Angeles Media Fund, Huayi Brothers
Rating: PG-13 (Terror|Horror Violence|Bloody Images|Teen Drinking|Partial Nudity|Thematic Elements|Sexual Content|Some Language)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.4M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)