The Boogeyman Review: Don’t Forget Your Night-light (2024)

From the mind of best-selling author Stephen King comes “The Boogeyman.” High school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer are reeling from the recent death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims. “The Boogeyman,” directed by Rob Savage (“Host”) with a screenplay by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods (“A Quiet Place”) and Mark Heyman (“Black Swan”) and a screen story by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods based upon the short story by Stephen King, stars Sophie Thatcher (“Yellowjackets”), Chris Messina (“Air”), Vivien Lyra Blair (“Obi-Wan Kenobi”), Marin Ireland (“The Umbrella Academy”), Madison Hu (“Bizaardvark”), LisaGay Hamilton (“Vice”), and David Dastmalchian (“Boston Strangler”). The producers are Shawn Levy (“Stranger Things”), Dan Levine (“Arrival”), and Dan Cohen (“The Adam Project”), with John H. Starke (“Sicario”), Emily Morris (“Rosaline”), Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Ryan Cunningham, Adam Kolbrenner (“The Tomorrow War”), and Robyn Meisinger serving as executive producers.

The Boogeyman Trailer:

The Good:

The Boogeyman wastes no time in setting the tone of the entire film with its opening scene. I liked the fact that the creature’s unique tactics of luring its victims were on early display. The distorted voices and other sound effects were chilling especially once it was revealed how they were used in the film. The beauty of this film is that it created a good connecting point for the audience with a common experience of possibly hearing phantom sounds. Plus, the initial victim was a great way to communicate to audiences that this monster was not one to be played with.

I thought the cinematography aided the film in a couple of ways. Director Rob Savage made a wise choice in occasionally subverting expectations with the unique ways the camera shots set up the future scares. I liked how we got to see long, lingering shots at the closet doors that were either closed or cracked open. That in itself reminded me of what it was like being a kid and being terrified of what may be looking back from inside the closet. In other words, it was an excellent way to create a sense of paranoia for the audience and create a level of uneasiness whenever a closet came into view.

The camera work and foreshadowing led to some effective jump-scares in The Boogeyman. I felt like the jump scares were earned because sometimes they would just happen after a successful amount of build-up. Even though I felt it was spoiled in the trailers, I still enjoyed the scene where the ball of light was rolled under the bed. That scene speaks to the effective use of shadows to cover up the monster. The shadows only added to the fear factor of the threat that the monster posed and it made the film that much more terrifying in certain moments. I think one of the best scenes in the entire movie had to be the hallway scene in the old abandoned house. The confined space and dark spaces had my mind racing. (I’ll share more thoughts on that later.)

Lastly, I thought the overall theme of grief was handled well. I thought it was interesting to have the film connect this monster with the theme of being hurt and/or vulnerable. Figuratively, that carried a lot of meaning to me as it seemed to communicate that there is an ugly side of grief that is scary to confront. At times it can feel like a monster in itself that you simply can’t escape and seeks to consume you. This film found a way to manifest all of that into the form of a horror story and I thought it was pretty effective.

The Bad:

One of the biggest missed opportunities in The Boogeyman was the reveal of the monster in the third act. A good majority of the film kept the monster in shadows, and I believe that made the creature so much more scary to think about. There was no need to reveal what the monster looked like because my imagination was doing a lot of that work on its own. The real terror is in the unknown, and when we get a chance to actually see what the monster looks like, it became less scary. A lot of the mystery and curiosity started to fade all because the creature started to resemble something from a bad alien movie. This was a good time to remember the phrase, “Less is more”.

The only other minor issue goes back to one of my favorite scenes in the movie. The hallway scene was probably the most exciting moment in the film, but it was entirely too short. Granted, there’s only so much house the characters can run through, but I thought that with all the candles and darkness in the corridors, it made for a perfect scene to be chased by a monster. Unfortunately, that scene lasted for maybe less than a minute.

The Verdict:

The Boogeyman is a solid horror film that can make full-grown adults relive their childhood fears. I enjoyed this movie for what it was and what it offered. However, I do think that it left a lot more to be desired. This is based on a short story by Stephen King, and the movies based on his books usually fare pretty well. Maybe there’s room for a potential sequel, and if there was one green-lit, I’d be interested. I wouldn’t say this was one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. On a scare meter, it falls short below movies like Insidious 1 & 2. However, it’s still good enough to make you second guess whether you should sleep with your lights off at night. Check out The Boogeyman in a theater near you if you like.

Director: Rob Savage
Writer(s): Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, Mark Heyman
Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu, LisaGay Hamilton, and David Dastmalchian
The Boogeyman hits theaters June 2nd, 2023. Be sure to follow E-Man’s Movie Reviews for more reviews and contests. You can follow on Facebook, Subscribe on YouTube, or follow me on Twitter/IG @EmansReviews for even more!

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The Boogeyman Review: If F**k Them Kids Were A Monster
  • Acting - 6/10

    6/10

  • Cinematography/Visual Effects - 7/10

    7/10

  • Plot/Screenplay - 7/10

    7/10

  • Setting/Theme - 8/10

    8/10

  • Watchability - 7/10

    7/10

  • Rewatchability - 7/10

    7/10

Overall

7/10

7/10

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The Boogeyman Review: Don’t Forget Your Night-light (2024)

FAQs

Is the Boogeyman still alive at the end of the movie? ›

The Boogeyman's ending teases that the creature is not actually dead, and that it could come back to attack Sadie and Sawyer. The Boogeyman is relentless in preying on its victims, and there's no way to determine whether the monster is permanently dead or if setting it on fire was just a temporary setback.

What was in the closet at the end of the Boogeyman? ›

Billings then hears a creepy voice from the closet say "so nice" before the door swings open and the Boogeyman comes out. And if that doesn't get you, King's final line of the story certainly will: "It still held its Dr Harper mask in one rotted, spade-claw hand."

What is the light ball in the Boogeyman? ›

In the movie, the Boogeyman is a creature that hides in shadows, which is why Sawyer is always holding a big moon lamp whenever we see her in the film's trailers. The moon lamp is so iconic that it became a symbol for the movie even before it came to theaters.

Is the Boogeyman good or bad? ›

The Boogeyman is an easily forgettable horror movie that struggles to deliver genuine scares or explore emotional depth. Its derivative and predictable nature, underdeveloped characters and slow-paced plot contribute to its lacklustre impact.

Is the Boogeyman Based on a true story? ›

The boogeyman is not real, but most cultures have some version of the boogeyman myth, although they go by many, many different names. The actual "boogeyman" name most likely originated sometime in the 19th century, but the mythology of these kinds of "monsters" have been around for much longer than that.

What happened to the mom in the Boogeyman? ›

Plot. Therapist Will Harper is struggling to overcome the death of his wife, who died suddenly in a car crash. His daughters, Sadie and Sawyer, are likewise struggling to deal with their mother's passing. One day, a disturbed man called Lester Billings visits Will's office.

What does The Boogeyman symbolize? ›

Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on the purpose of invoking the figure, often on the basis of a warning from an authority figure to a child. The term is sometimes used as a non-specific personification of, or metonym for, terror, and sometimes the Devil.

Is The Boogeyman movie demonic? ›

The Boogeyman turns out to be a real demonic force. The demon threatens the ones he loves, so Tim decides to take action. BOOGEYMAN the movie is filled with scary scenes and scary supernatural encounters with the demonic title character.

What does the original Boogeyman look like? ›

The Boogeyman has no specific appearance and conception of it can vary drastically from household to household within the same community. It is a formless being that can take any shape the storyteller wishes though he tends to be a grotesque humanoid with a tendency to hide under beds, in closets and other dark places.

What Stephen King book is the movie Boogeyman based on? ›

It is, we learn in the credits, indeed based on the King story of the same name, from his 1978 collection “Night Shift.” Sort of. A couple of the characters in the film share names with characters from the book, and one of them does similar things.

What is the main idea of The Boogeyman? ›

"The Boogeyman" is a horror short story by Stephen King, first published in 1973. The story follows a man named Lester Billings, who visits a psychiatrist to talk about the deaths of his three children. Lester believes that the deaths were caused by a supernatural entity known as the Boogeyman.

What is the movie Boogeyman about? ›

Is Boogeyman WWE still alive? ›

Martin Wright (born July 15, 1964), better known by the ring name The Boogeyman, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a legends contract, and is an aerobics instructor.

Is there a post-credit scene in the Boogeyman? ›

It's not exactly a surprise that Rob Savage's The Boogeyman doesn't have a post-credit scene. While the movie is an adaptation of a classic story by the master of horror, Stephen King, the original material is just a dozen pages long.

Is the Boogeyman under the bed or in the closet? ›

In other places he hides or appears from under the bed or in the closet and tickles children when they go to sleep at night, while in others he is a tall figure in a black hooded cloak who puts children in a sack. It is said that a wart can be transmitted to someone by the boogeyman.

Will there be a Boogeyman 2? ›

The Boogeyman 2 Isn't Happening Yet

Disney and 20th Century have yet to announce plans for The Boogeyman 2, so it is not officially happening at the moment. They moved it from streaming to give it a theatrical release in hopes that it would be a hit and even possibly launch a new horror franchise.

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