The Boogeyman (2023)

You’d think the world wouldn’t need yet another movie entitled THE BOOGEYMAN (the boogey bog was muddy enough with 2005’s BOOGEYMAN, its sequels and of course Ulli Lommel’s notorious 1980 throw in the kitchen sink, supernatural slash-a-thon THE BOOGEYMAN ) but the latest heir to the moniker has a major ace up its sleeve as it’s based on a short story by horror master Stephen King. Truth told, King’s tale is as slight as they come (a troubled man tells his therapist that his three children were all killed by an amorphous monster that hangs out in closets) so its utilized more as a kicking off point in this instance (a more faithful short film was made of it back in 1982). The result is an efficient, audience friendly PG-13 scare dispenser that’s sure to please horror fans looking for their fix. Ultimately, the film favors ALIEN-inspired creature features like A QUIET PLACE rather than its more psychological source material but there’s plenty going on in this monster’s bulbous head concerning grief and its aftermath to always keep it emotionally engaging.

Chris Messina (DEVIL, SIX FEET UNDER) portrays a therapist named Will Harper who conducts his sessions from home. He’s an emotional wreck having recently lost his wife in a car accident but is trying to keep it together for his equally devastated daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher of YELLOWJACKETS) & troubled tyke Sawyer (Vivian Lyra Blair). One day he unwisely allows a creepy stranger (David Dastmalchian) to weasel his way into his home office. The weirdo only bums him out further telling him through tears that a supernatural closet-dwelling creature murdered his three children. Worse still, when Will excuses himself and attempts to call for back-up, the loon creeps further into his house and hangs himself in a closet (and as we’ll learn, passes the horror hot potato onto the already overly burdened family). You’d think that having a slimy ten foot tall monster on your heals would be the last thing you’d need while processing the recent death of a loved one but as it turns out, it’s very therapeutic! While trying to legit kill everybody, our Boogeyman also inadvertently teaches the family if you hold on too tight to something, you’re going to be dragged (in this case into the basement).

I thoroughly enjoyed THE BOOGEYMAN. It’s got more than it’s share of good scares, an appealing cast and it was obviously built with the intention of giving the audience a fun ride. Director Rob Savage (HOST) does a great job of keeping the titular baddy shapeless and hidden in the dark for much of the runtime, only allowing teasing peaks here and there and then kindly delivers an appreciated full gander view during the surprisingly tense climax. Much creative work is is done with light and shadow and the film successfully brought me back to my own memories of being scared and alone at night as a child; absolutely convinced that something horrible was with me in my bedroom at night (in my case I was worried about the giant hand under my bed and a mysterious figure named “Mary Wolf” whose picture I was sure I saw in a children’s encyclopedia (in hindsight, I believe it was just a scary tribal mask). Hey, I might be biased, THE BOOGEYMAN is basically about giving physical form to a Kindertrauma, how can I possibly not love that?