The Boogeyman is a horror film based from the mind of American author, Stephen King. With a budget of $32 million, it was produced by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman, and directed by Rob Savage. It has an impressive return at the box office, bringing it $82.3 million.
The movie stars Sophi Thatcher as Sadie , Chris Messina as Dr. Will Harper, and Vivien Lyra Blair as Sawyer. The film starts out horrifyingly with a shocking scene depicting the “boogeyman” murdering an innocent baby as it lays in its crib. There is then a sharp transition to a scene depicting high school students Sadie Harper and her younger sister , who are still mourning over the recent death of their mother. The girls are receiving no help at all from their father, Dr. Will Harper, a therapist who’s dealing with his own intense pain from the loss of his wife. Later a desperate patient named Lester shows up unexpectedly, seeking help from Dr. Harper. The audience soon learns that he is the father of the child who was dreadfully pulled from her bed in the opening of the movie. The film follows as the Harper family alongside Lester struggle with the torment inflicted on their lives by the deadly boogeyman, a terrifying supernatural creature that strikes fear into everyone it encounters, as it preys on families, feeding off the suffering of the victims.
This movie is filled with unexpected jump scares, and leaves the audience with an eerie vibe. This movie has had me pushed back in my seat, clutching onto the hand rests with fear and anxiety. The movie had a sad but well planned out story that delved into the family’s traumatic experiences with the creature, allowing the characters to fully develop as the movie progressed. Despite a lot of twists and turns throughout the film , it still managed to be accessible to the audience and easy to follow.
The Boogeyman did follow many of the traditional ideas necessary for a classic horror film, such as jump scares which are a critical part of good movies to many horror fans. However, the movie did tend to rely too heavily on the jump scares, making them predictable. Additionally, another disadvantage of the movie was the short amount of time Lester was given on screen. His story was pivotal to the film and an overall enjoyable part of the movie experience, but the audience was given very little time to watch the character grow.
Rob Savage’s technological sense is curiously absent from the movie. For all the talk throughout the film about how the Boogeyman hates the light and can not survive in any light source, the script more or less ignores the idea that a cell phone flash light could have been a way to keep the creature away, leaving a gaping plot hole that the audience is likely to struggle with.
Despite the film having some flaws, this is a great movie for horror movie fanatics to watch late at night when they need a bit of a scare. Its tense and uncomfortable ambience creates a fun style that most horror audiences are sure to enjoy.
