Worth: $13.50
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Cast:
Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, LisaGay Hamilton
Intro:
… fitfully effective, if not entirely satisfying.
Although Stephen King gets a lot of deserved attention for his mammoth doorstop epics like The Stand, It and Insomnia, the Maine man is also responsible for a staggering number of iconic and memorable short stories.
Most conversations about the famed author will, at some point, move onto reminiscing about some of those, with particular focus on classics like “The Raft” (adapted in Creepshow 2), “The Jaunt” (currently in a stalled adaptation), “Quitters, Inc.” (realised in Cat’s Eye) and, of course, “The Boogeyman”.
First published in 1973 and later included in the 1978 collection Night Shift, “The Boogeyman” is a nasty little number about a child-killing monster and the father who attempts to tell a shrink about it. Naturally, all is not well and the story ends on a chilling note. Great short story, but is it worthy of a feature adaptation? Director Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam) certainly thinks so and delivers a film that is fitfully effective, if not entirely satisfying.
The Boogeyman is the tale of the Harper family, comprising eldest daughter Sadie (Sophie Thatcher), youngest daughter Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) and father Will (Chris Messina). Sadie and fam are grieving the loss of the matriarch, who died in a car accident and none of them are coping particularly well. Sadie is lost, Sawyer is scared, and Will is in complete denial. One day, Will, a psychiatrist, receives a drop-in from the disturbed Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian). Lester tells a dark tale about a child-killing monster before he apparently commits suicide in the closet. However, Lester’s visit seems to have brought more than just a disturbing closet-related anecdote to the Harpers. It has unleashed something evil. And hungry.
The Boogeyman is an odd little flick that never entirely seems to know what it wants to be. In the first half an hour, it’s a quite subtle piece with the “grief as a monster” trope used to solid, albeit familiar effect. Then it becomes an “investigate the source of evil” yarn, similar to (but not quite as good as) The Ring or Smile. Then, in the final third, it becomes a total creature feature replete with a CGI monster that we see just a little bit too much. The script is just oddly unfocused. The good news, however, is that tremendous performances and very solid direction keep the ship afloat, with Sophie Thatcher doing particularly fine work in a demanding role and Rob Savage crafting genuinely creepy set pieces. If only the stuff in between the noisy jump scares was anywhere near as compelling.
Ultimately, The Boogeyman is a decent little horror flick with quality direction and great performances. However, it’s let down by an uneven script that never quite decides if this film is a grim yarn or a toothless terror, resulting in an experience that lacks cohesion. Still, there’s worse ways to spend 98 minutes, and while it lacks the spine-chilling menace of the Stephen King short story, it’s engaging enough for the horror-starved genre fan.
