Chilling 'THE BOOGEYMAN' Rekindles Fear of the Dark

A family reeling from the sudden death of their wife and mother. A creature that feeds on grief and weakness. Crippling fear of the dark. These are well-worn horror movie tropes through and through but they are executed to impressive effect by filmmaker Rob Savage in his first traditional feature, The Boogeyman. Savage takes these overcooked conventions and tosses them in a wicked blender of terror and tension to make for a wicked fright fest that could well fling you out of your seat.

The Boogeyman is based on the Steven King novella of the same name in the loosest of senses. Rather than strictly adapting the book, Savage’s film acts as a coda of sorts to King’s, recounting the short story but primarily taking place in what happens after the tale as written concludes. In King’s tale, Lester Billings (played here by the reliably eerie David Dastmalchian) recounts the mysterious death of his three young children to therapist Dr. Will Harper (Chris Messina), trying to convince the doctor that something supernatural stole their lives. In the film, he promptly then takes his own.Dr. Harper and his daughters Sadie, played by Yellowjackets standout Sophie Thatcher, and Sawyer, portrayed by Bird Box and Waco’s Vivien Lyra Blair, are left in the wake of their mother’s death and Billings’ suicide in their house. But something even more nefarious has crept into their grief stricken abode: a spindly demon, seemingly made of darkness, with bright glowing eyes, who feeds on their fear and weakness. The screenplay from Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman is a similarly skeletal frame, though the meat of the film lies in Savage’s confident, creepy direction and the actors’ convincing performances.

A verifiable jump scare blitz, Savage’s work had me throttled out of my seat on a number of occasions. There’s not a lot of laughs but those that are there work really well to defuse the tension. The issue is that sometimes it can all be a bit too much: one tense scene simply bleeds into the next. Relief can be scarce. When the air is let out a bit, it works to defuse the monotony and get the audience back in the mood for frights.

While the film was originally planning for release on Hulu in 2023, after Disney purchased 20th Century Fox and received positive test screenings, plans switched to a theatrical release. Horror fans ultimately came out on top here, as this is precisely the film of horror film that excels in a packed theater. The whole of the crowd was riveted, sharing in that collective silence that fear so effortlessly generates. Likewise, the creature effects, funded by the film’s $35 million budget, are convincing and reminded at least this viewer of Stranger Things’ ethereal haunted house aesthetics. At times reminiscent of James Wan’s use of negative space and sudden, effective jump scares, Savage proves he can keep pace with some of the best in the business. Even when the writing falls short, Savage’s direction keeps the film afloat.

Lurking in the closet, the leggy demon with glowing eyes struggles with motives that remain a bit unclear. This boogeyman likes to toy with its victims before consuming them, ostensibly a “fattening of the calf” technique to make the eventual kill all the more satisfying. And though the cat and mouse game of haunted vs. haunter generally works, it does eventually get a bit repetitive and may have audiences questioning: is that all? Similarly, a bullying subplot feels like a missed opportunity for a gory payoff. For all its brutal killings, The Boogeyman oddly spares its vilest characters.

The Boogeyman is a potent calling card for Rob Savage. He’s a director who can wring dread from the familiar, an ability that promises more exciting, if spine-chilling, cinematic ventures ahead. This film isn’t a genre-bending reinvention but rather a testament to skillful storytelling and effective scares. If you’re in the mood for a film that transforms your closet into a suspect habringer of dread, then dare to turn off the lights and face The Boogeyman.

CONCLUSION: One of the better (and more assertive) adaptations of Steven King, ‘The Boogeyman’ is a well-directed, well-acted slice of classic ‘fear the dark’ horror. It’s scary, it’ll make you jump, and it’s somehow only rated PG-13.