The Boogeyman [2023] – Movie Review (3/5)

THE BOOGEYMAN is a new horror movie based on a Stephen King short story. And yes, it is actually quite effective. It may not be as creepy as it is hyped up to be, but it holds up just fine. Read our The Boogeyman movie review here!

THE BOOGEYMAN is a horror movie out in theaters. That is a big thing – not least since the film was produced to be released directly on Hulu. However, that was quickly changed when test screenings resulted in overwhelmingly positive feedback.

The horror movie is based on horror master Stephen King’s short story of the same name, which is certainly a good starting point. I read the short story just before the press screening and have to say it holds up pretty well. Even if, by its very nature, it mostly uses the short story as a starting point.

Read our review of The Boogeyman horror movie below. Find it in theaters from June 2, 2023.

The scariest Stephen King adaptation?

In the last few weeks, The Boogeyman has been hyped quite heavily. Among other things with expressions like “the creepiest Stephen King movie adaptation ever”. So is it? Well, I don’t think so actually.

Not that I can say exactly why that is, but The Boogeyman doesn’t automatically enter that list for me.

On the other hand, it is certainly very effective, and not only with jumpscares. If you imagine jumpscares to be the kind of scenes that make you literally jump in your seat, then this movie does offer some of those.

But it also offers something else that I really enjoy too; The “Cower in your seat” kind of shock.

I actually caught myself suddenly sitting a little deeper in the seat. And then just a little further down, when a particularly creepy scene burst onto the screen.

Granted, the whole concept is also pretty perfect for someone like me. I am a person who still continuously checks under the bed and in the closet whenever I have to spend the night in a new place. Because you just never know.

So, yeah, this kind of Stephen King horror story is right up my alley!

From short story to full feature film

If you’ve read Stephen King’s short story, it’s exactly that story (albeit slightly altered, although several names are kept) that opens the film.

Will Harper (Chris Messina) is a psychologist and receives an unexpected visit from Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), who tells a terrible story about how his children died. One by one. Roughly speaking, it is this session between patient and therapist that make up the short story itself.

It’s basically Lester’s story about how his kids died.

However, the session ends differently in the film, after which it is Will Harper’s family that we follow. He is a widower and just recently lost his wife. This means his two daughters have also lost their mother, but Will handles it all rather badly and does not talk to his children about it.

Ironically, he sends them to another psychologist instead. Which is good, but talking to them, when they actually want this, would be really good as well.

The daughters are the ones who actually get to fight the Boogeyman. The two daughters, Sadie and Sawyer, are played by Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and Vivien Lyra Blair (Bird Box) respectively. I enjoyed both their performances very much in this. Never getting too over-the-top!

Watch The Boogeyman in theaters now!

Rob Savage has directed The Boogeyman and ever since we read about it, we’ve actually been looking forward to seeing the result. Here at Heaven of Horror, we were really excited about his Covid-19 Horror Movie Host (2020), which was created with Shudder.

It was also released there and immediately became a huge hit.

Then Rob Savage made Dashcam (2021), which was also creepy, but in a completely different way. And not a way that hit the spot as much for me personally.

The script for The Boogeyman was written by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman (Black Swan). Based on a story created by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, who again based this on a Stephen King short story.

Most horror fans will probably recognize Scott Beck & Bryan Woods as the duo behind A Quiet Place, Haunt, and (unfortunately!) 65. With this latest horror film, they’ve gotten away pretty well with building on King’s story.

It’s almost a little nicer (and wilder), but it definitely works as an effective and brutal horror movie!

The Boogeyman is out in US theaters from June 2, 2023. It will be available on PVOD from August 29, 2023 in the US.

Details

In Theaters: June 2, 2023 (US)
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Director: Rob Savage
Writer: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Akela Cooper, Mark Heyman
Cast: Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, Vivien Lyra Blair, Madison Hu