The Boogeyman
Director: Rob Savage
Writer: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Mark Heyman
Based on: Stephen King‘s short story
Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu, Maddie Nichols, Leeann Ross, Rio Sarah Machado, Shauna Rappold, LisaGay Hamilton
Seen on: 6.6.2023

Content Note: suicide

Plot:
The Harpers are reeling after losing the mother of the family (LisaGay Hamilton). Will (Chris Messina), a therapist himself, finds himself struggling to connect with his two daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) after the tragedy. With his patients, he has less trouble, although he is worried when Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) finds his way into his practice, obviously disturbed and talking about a monster that killed his children. This monster seems to be present in his own house, but only Sawyer seems to notice at first. Sadie starts to believe, too, but whether they can convince Will remains to be seen.

The Boogeyman is a solid horror movie that delivers what you expect of it, nothing more and nothing less: some nice scares, a good cast and an attempt to make the horror stand for more than fear itself. It does become a little bland at times, but it’s not bad.

It’s been decades that I read the short story this is based on, but from what I recall, they embellished it quite a bit with the film, and those embellishments are not always particularly creative. Especially the lack of mothers in the film seems a little uninspired. Maybe one should make a count at some point how often films are about fathers struggling with their children, especially daughters, after the mothers are gone for whatever reason.

Anyhow, the film tries to make the Boogeyman as something more than just a monster. It tries to make it a symbol for something, but what that something is is exceedingly unclear. Grief? Neglect? Distance? It’s fine when symbols aren’t unambiguous but you should still get the sense that the people deploying them had a concrete meaning in mind. That’s not the case here, really.

This weakens the emotional impact of the film, which is a pity. Not only for the sake of the film and the way the audience can relate to it, but also for the cast, especially the trio of Messina, Thatcher and Blair who work really well together. Their concern for each other and their helplessness with each other is palpable and very well done.

The film is at its best, though, when it works with light. There are some inspired scenes with Sawyer’s lamp in the shape of a ball, but there are some really nice other moments as well. (Just don’t think too hard about whether other light sources could have and should have been used by the characters.) It gives the films an atmospheric strength that carries it through the weaker second half – and the unnecessary twist at the end.

In short, there is enough here to make the film a good watch, even if it won’t make any top-of-the-year lists from me.

Summarizing: decent and very watchable.