Posted by Be it Carrie, The Shining, Stand By Me, Shawshank Redemption, IT, The Green Mile, hell even The Running Man filmmakers love turning to Stephen King for inspiration. Director Rob Savage is the latest in a long line of directors to do so, giving the silver screen treatment to Mr King’s early ’70s short story The Boogeyman.
The Harper family, sisters Sawyer and Sadie and father Will are all struggling to come to terms with the passing of the family matriarch. On top of all this, after a disturbed individual visits Will who is a psychiatrist, creepy things start to go bump in the night. Things steadily get scarier, as the sinister forces at play make their bad intentions known.
The Boogeyman is a decent genre film with a spooky atmosphere and a powerful sense of dread that grows and grows. It’s got a few good jump scares and some good performances, especially from Sophie Thatcher who played big sister Sawyer – she definitely has a good future in horror. Vivien Lyra Blair puts in a good turn as the frightened little sister Sadie. Chris Messina plays the typical horror film dad; devoted, stubborn to the bone and with a troubled past.
But it can’t escape the genre, and especially its clichés. It is gripping but you can see all the plot twists and turns coming, and it is never properly scary. It is slickly made and reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street, especially the climactic and very silly ending.
A decent if generic horror film with a spooky atmosphere, a heavy sense of dread and a great performance by Sophie Thatcher.
6.5/10
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