Film Review: The Boogeyman (2023) - USA 🇺🇸
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia 🇦🇺)
Based on the 1970s horror short story written by Stephen King, “The Boogeyman” is a dated tale that rides on the fears of children and the darkness around us. Director Rob Savage gets his first studio production after indie success with “Host” and “Dashcam”. In fact Savage manages to use the suspense and spaces to create the situations to make “The Boogeyman” an entertaining and creepy experience.
Sophie Thatcher gets the conflicted role of dealing with the sudden death of her mother, the presence of a boogeyman, a father taking a literally emotion leave of absence and a sister that dreams of monsters. All this is wrapped in a character that deals with bullies, friendships and overcoming adversity and odds to fight off the evil. In the mix is the grieving father played by Chris Messina who fails to juggle reality and parenthood after the lost of his wife. Little sister played by Vivien Lyra Blair is especially fascinating as her vulnerability remains central to the film more creepy moments. David Dastmalchian steals the scenes in a short but memorable experience as Lester Billings, a character that originally has more focus in the Stephen King’s story.
All in all, “The Boogeyman” is unlikely to set anything on fire apart from the boogeyman himself. Still there are plenty of “horror 101” moments to make this a creepy and entertaining experience. Sure the boogeyman can be better portrayed than being monsters with spider like legs. The darkness and mood setting are well planned as are the overall acting by both Thatcher and Blair. Director Savage shows plenty of potential and if given a better script and material, he will certainly excel. Decent watch without being a must.
I rated it 7/10