Douglas Smith stars in a scene from the movie "The Bye Bye Man." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/STX Entertainment)

By Catholic News Service

Overwrought horror flick in which a college student (Douglas Smith), his live-in girlfriend (Cressida Bonas) and his best pal since childhood (Lucien Laviscount) rent a spooky house together where they are plagued by the malevolent specter of the title (Doug Jones). His main trick is to cause hallucinations setting each member of the trio against the others with potentially fatal results.

In adapting a chapter from Robert Damon Schneck book, “The President’s Vampire,” director Stacy Title goes easy on the gore. But the ensemble’s whining about their collective plight makes this inept film more tiresome than terrifying.

Considerable violence with some gore, brief rear nudity, a discreet bedroom scene, implied casual sex, cohabitation, about a half-dozen uses each of profanity and crude language, sexual references and banter. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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