The Boogeyman

By: Dana Jacoviello

The Boogeyman, directed by Rob Savage, is an adaptation of the original 1980’s film with the same name. Though not at all like the origin, it aims to provide that jump scare horror effect that we all love to enjoy. My guess with this movie is that most will see it the same way I did – not what it could have been.

A family is recovering from deep grief of losing their mother. The oldest daughter Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) is the eldest child trying to navigate helping her equally grieving father Will (Chris Messina) with taking care of the youngest Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). They all soon find themselves fighting for their sanity and lives against a dark evil presence as their father still has not dealt with the death of their mother and is absent minded as to what is going on and about to happen.

The cast fairs well with the material given in The Boogeyman, but it is different from the original. The fear factor isn’t as intense as one would think. Additionally, the name does not fully embrace the movie. It aims to psychologically play with your mind in creating that fear of the dark and unknown in our lives. You see what can manifest from our minds and what it would be like to see that horror, and it presents the question of what if this existed. The Boogeyman attaches itself to the weak and struggling. That is when you are most vulnerable to any dark force to walk into your life. It is a fight for life against what creeps around the darkness of our open doors.

There are no real standout moments in this movie, as there should be in such a horror movie. Again, the cast did well, but the movie itself is not what it probably could have been. I felt no intense build up that we long for in this genre of films. We want to be terrified and enjoy it because, as crazy as this sounds, it should be an escape into a world that only exists in our minds. With his film, the fear factor is low – mediocre for this story and what we are used to seeing coming from minds like Stephen King and Rob Savage. There are some moments you watch with wide open eyes, jump or get that effect you are looking for, but there are not enough to hold your attention as scary movies should, or one would expect when they go see a horror flick. The one performance that I felt was well played was Sophie Thatcher as Sadie Harper. She is a talented actress that held the movie together.

Director Rob Savage could have done more with this movie. It was very generic and not exciting to watch. When you take a long-time tale such as The Boogeyman, it needs to be innovative and unexpected. It is lacking in originality and predictable. The lighting, the music, the darkness that sets a mood is definitely there, but the buildup never grabs you. There were many aspects done that could have brought this movie far beyond what it was. It was watching a bunch of thrown together moments that do not hold the story. You barely get to see the creature that lurks. It is faint. Nothing special about this version that stands out as many would have liked to see.

If you dig a decently made horror flick that you do not expect much from, I will say watch it and just enjoy The Boogeyman for what it is. I was truly not impressed – even a little disappointed. I was all ready to clutch my sheets and eat some popcorn. At best, I would give this movie a 5 out of 10. I’m being a little bit generous here, but movies deserve honest review so we can do better next time.