The Boogeyman (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.

My Take – Haven’t we all heard of the Boogeyman? The ominous figure who for centuries has been scaring kids into good behavior for years, particularly by hiding under the bed and dark spots.

Though the “monster in the closet” got his moment on the big screen back in 2005, which was followed by two atrocious sequels, this latest rendition is instead based on a Stephen King short story, and unsurprisingly carries more depth than a 99-minute film normally would.

Directed by Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam) and written by Mark Heyman (Black Swan) and ‘A Quiet Place’ duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the supernatural horror is actually quite effective, alternately going from slow and brooding to loud and booming, expertly taking King‘s psychological demon home to create subtle dread throughout.

Sure, it may not be as creepy as it has been hyped up to be, but it’s also a film that hits hard when it decides to unleash its beast. And while it plays with familiar themes, what ultimately makes an impression is the lurking sense of danger and the taunting playfulness of the titular mean monster.

The story follows Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher), a High school student, and her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) who are left distraught following the recent sudden death of their mother. Devastated by his own pain, their father Dr. Will Harper (Chris Messina), a therapist by profession, gives them neither the support nor the affection that they need to process and move on.

However, their life only gets worse when Will is visited by Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), a disturbed man seeking professional help, or at least a sympathetic ear. Particularly because, he explains to Will how his three children were mysteriously killed and the town thinks he’s to blame, and when Will turns his back, Lester goes upstairs and hangs himself in a closet.

Unleashing a dangerous entity that preys on the family like a psychic vampire that leeches off their greatest suffering. Pushing them into a race to survive.

Here, director Savage spends time focusing on the family dynamics, so when weird things start happening, you care. It’s almost 30 minutes into the film until the first true jump scare arrives. But when it ratchets up the scares it comes alive, and ramps up its intensity. He finds greatest success in the eerie atmosphere that permeates nearly every scene.

His use of lighting and sound design, effectively builds a jittery tension which contributes to the ever-present sense of unease. The shadows cast by the half-opened closet doors and the creaking of floorboards generate an atmosphere ripe with eye-covering scares. The film cleverly plays with our anticipation by capitalizing on the idea that true fear often resides in what creeps and crawls at the edges of the frame.

The film is especially good at minimizing the usual horror tropes like jump scares and irrelevant clues while preserving such sacred ones like going into a cellar. And when the titular antagonist appears, it is quite effective. Even the dark corners where it lurks beforehand, barely glimpsed also work well.

However, at the center of the film is a tale about people experiencing difficult times and difficult emotions, and this is something which the film never loses sight of. When it hits the spot, it hits it well, and it does so because director Rob Savage understands the emotional core of this story is so important for the film. Conversations about loss, and the toll it takes on a family are highlights hitting all the right beats when it is placing its energy in this direction.

It’s perhaps most fascinating, then, that by its climax, the film’s strengths and weaknesses find themselves swapping positions. The meandering, if capably acted, dramatics of the Harper family come into sharper and more compelling focus in the third act, resolving each of their respective arcs with nuance and grace.

Performances wise, Sophie Thatcher is brilliant and while Vivien Lyra Blair effectively sells being terrified. Chris Messina does a wonderful job, while David Dastmalchian and Marin Ireland bring in effectively nasty turns. Madison Hu is also decent in a small role. On the whole, ‘The Boogeyman’ is an effectively tense and enjoyable horror which despite familiar themes is deftly made.