Review: ‘The Boogeyman Is A Moody Monster Movie With Real Bite
© Patti Perrett, HO/TNSLeft to right: Sophie Thatcher as Sadie Harper, Chris Messina as Will Harper and Vivienne Lyra Blair as Sawyer Harper in The Boogeyman. (Patty Perrett/20th Century Studios/TNS)
Night after night of jams, then The Boogeyman, director Rob Savage's terrific performance alternates between slow and hard, loud and bright.
One way to explain the existence of secret closets under our beds or behind open doors is a film that uses wounds as universal medicine. But when the fear rises, it comes to life, and director Savage (host, videographer) knows how to build a sequence and how to increase its intensity. This is a monster movie with bite.
Chris Messina (Ether) stars as Will Harper, a therapist whose wife is recently killed in a car accident. Their daughters—high school senior Sadie (Sophie Thatcher's Yellow Jackets) and freshman Sawyer (Vivienne Lyra Blair)—deal with the loss in their own ways, mostly by going it alone.
Sadie returns to school in her mother's dress, her AirPods blocking out messages of sympathy from her classmates. When a girl disturbs him and spills yogurt on his clothes, he decides that school is not for him and goes home.
While at home, he is visited by his father, Lester (David Dastmalchian), a straight man in need of professional help, or at least a sympathetic listener. He explains to Will how his three children were mysteriously killed and that he thinks the town is responsible, and when Will turns his back, Lester walks out and hangs himself in the closet. Sadie is an unhappy soul who finds her own body.
There is a supernatural force here, the power of the Boogeyman as a monstrous demon crawls up the walls, appearing in the shadows for most of the film. Based on the 1973 Stephen King short story, Savage spends its time focusing on the Harpers and their family relationships, so you're intrigued when strange things happen to them. It was about 30 minutes into the movie before the first real scream was heard.
King's story leaves something to be desired narratively, and Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman's script could use more meat to chew on. But it does allow Savage to cut a few corny sequences where a big, bad monster is cornered and shot into a certain room. (The sound design team also deserves credit.)
Savage produces dark buds with lots of black and red spots, which is a nuisance. While Boogeyman plays with familiar themes, it's a step up from many popular horror games today. It's a thoughtful, organic movie based on a monster.
