When I first saw a preview for this film called The Boogeyman I thought, "That is going to suuuuuck!" With such a boring and juvenile title, it's likely to be another disappointing ploy of jump scares and excessive special effects like The Pope's Exorcist from April of this year or the Netflix version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre from last year. But my initial judgement was wrong.
The Boogeyman is adapted from a short story by Stephen King published in his 1978 collection Night Shift. This story has been adapted into three short films already released in 1982, 2010, and 2014.
While emotionally recovering from their mother's death, two sisters start sensing an evil presence in their home and try to learn where it comes from and how to defeat it. This evil presence is like a ghostly demon feeding on people's despair, loneliness, and fear.
Of course this film has jump scares and people dying, but it surprisingly doesn't have too much of that, because it remains focused on the psychological horror of grief and how that grief changes the members of this family. Because The Boogeyman remains focused on the theme of grief, and does it with patiently-written dialogue that is well-acted, it's good.
I feel this horror picture is like Insidious (2010) meets The Babadook (2014) meets Antlers (2021). Yes, The Boogeyman is referential reminding me of these other horror films, but its pacing is so smooth, and its visuals are so arresting, the film feels unique enough to remain entertaining.
And let me just say the look of this film is brilliantly dead on. The editing is so tight, giving viewers tiny glimpses of the demon, it efficiently heightens the mystery. And the cinematography employs many lighting techniques, with carpets of melting candles and a plastic orb light rolling across the floor, that all audiences will be lured to the edge of their seats.
Once this film ended, I turned to my friend beside me and said, "That wasn't at all as terrible as I thought it would be." So that's a good sign. Right?
