“The Boogeyman” ekes out solid atmosphere and performances from the familiar

The Boogeyman (2023)

The childhood fear of there being a monster in the closet or under the bed is classic horror stuff. So why not make it the springboard for a horror movie, let alone one based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King from his 1978 collection “Night Shift.” An extension of King’s prose, “The Boogeyman” follows in a recent long line of literal/metaphorical horror movies—“Lights Out,” "Relic," “Antlers,” and “Smile,” just to name a few—where the monster is the personification of the human condition. Having already proven himself to be a resourceful filmmaker when it comes to keeping the found-footage sub-genre alive and well with 2020’s ingenious “Host,” director Rob Savage (2022’s “Dashcam”) helms what is his first studio horror movie with modestly effective, if not particularly distinguished, results. It won’t make you too scared of entering a dark room afterwards but gets the job done.

The script by writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (2018’s “A Quiet Place”) and Mark Heyman (2014’s “The Skeleton Twins”) wants to be more than just a bump-in-the-night fright flick, until eventually that’s all it wants to be. It follows the Harper family after the loss of the matriarch who was killed in a car accident not too long ago. The father, in-house therapist Dr. Will Harper (Chris Messina), doesn’t really want to talk about it. Not even to his eldest daughter, teenager Sadie (Sophie Thatcher), who isn’t as quick to erase the memory of Mom’s art studio. Then there’s young Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), who’s convinced there is a monster in her closet/under her bed. When an unexpected new patient (David Dastmalchian) comes into the Harper household, speaks of the horrors of a “shadow monster,” and commits suicide, the parasitic entity finds a new vulnerable family to latch itself onto and play with, as long as the Harpers don’t turn on a light. 

First and foremost, “The Boogeyman” is an emotionally involving family-in-crisis drama. The human struggles at the core of this story are thankfully not made secondary, and besides a suggestive, chillingly grim opening with a crying toddler being silenced, director Savage takes his time in doling out scares. It’s clear that getting us invested in the Harper family’s plight is priority numero uno, helped by the three main actors all committed to bringing added depth to this sympathetic family grappling with their loss. A talented, fresh-faced find on Showtime’s excellent “Yellowjackets,” Sophie Thatcher makes for a tremendous anchor as Sadie. Vivien Lyra Blair is a capable scene-stealer, emoting so authentically and also able to land the precocious-kid humor as the plucky Sawyer, and Chris Messina brings reliability just by showing up, even if this newly single father is sometimes gone for long stretches. David Dastmalchian has a single riveting scene (the extent of Stephen King’s short story) as a morose, broken man, Lester Billings, who has lost his family to the boogeyman, and Marin Ireland makes the most of a role that shouldn’t make sense beyond being given exposition duties. 

When the movie does get to scaring you, director Rob Savage doesn’t linger on these moments too long but leaves you wanting more. Jump scares are expertly engineered through careful editorial timing, strategically atmospheric lighting, and a building of old-fashioned dread. This is another reminder that solidly crafted horror movies come in all MPAA ratings, and Savage uses restraint (even if it’s studio notes related) to the film’s advantage. It’s what the film suggests or conceals that can be the most frightening, like when Sawyer tumbles her moon lamp into the dark unknown, or when a flashing red light in the sisters’ therapist’s office slowly reveals something on the ceiling, or when someone quietly alerts that the boogeyman is standing behind another character. Even the monster’s beady eyes glowing in the dark lend a playful menace, making us nervously laugh because we’re a step ahead of the characters.

Before (and after) becoming a metaphor for grief, the titular boogeyman is a literal monster with a deeper mythology. That choice, however, contradicts the thematic heft with the rules that are established later. We also end up seeing too much of the darkness-thriving, electricity-controlling entity, which resembles an alien spider or grasshopper (remember “Wes Craven Presents: They” from the early aughts?), at which point the proceedings turn into a routine, fairly silly monster movie. It’s less than terrifying, but patches of sufficient creepiness, attention to the characters, and skilled performances keep “The Boogeyman” from feeling entirely derivative. Even its use of a well-known upbeat song over the end credits is a little less inspired after this being around the fourth movie to do the same. 

Grade: C +

20th Century Studios is releasing “The Boogeyman” (98 min.) in theaters on June 2, 2023.