This is a review for the 2023 movie “The Boogeyman”. From director Rob Savage, “The Boogeyman” is a highly-anticipated adaptation of a short story from the legendary Stephen King. Taking some liberties from the original, it’s certainly it’s own thing – though it definitely feels like we’ve seen this movie before.
What is The Boogeyman about?
The Boogeyman (2023) is a movie adaptation of Stephen King’s 1973 short story of the same name. It is directed by Rob Savage, who is known for his horror films such as Host (2020) and Dashcam (2021). The movie follows a family who is haunted by a malevolent entity that lurks in the dark and preys on children.
When Sawyer Harper, a young girl, starts being terrorized by the Boogeyman – it falls on her sister, Sadie, to protect her. The sisters must stay out of the dark and be ready to fight to protect each other.
It’s a fairly standard haunted house movie, even if it isn’t the house that is haunted. It definitely gave a similar vibe to Smile (2022) and other movies in a similar ball-park.
The Boogeyman (2023) Review
I don’t think this is a particularly strong horror movie and was, ultimately, left quite disappointed. We’ve seen, in recent years, how horror can truly be used as a vehicle to tell a strong, thematic story. There have been so many effective horror movies, this year, that have conveyed a strong message while still being brutally scary. Some of them have been more successful than others, but The Boogeyman feels like a massive step-back. How many times have we done the whole “parent grows distant due to the other parent dying” thing? What is there left to say on this topic? The creature of the story is also lacking in originality. It stays in the shadows and torments people. We’ve done all of this before. There’s nothing new here!
However, The Boogeyman has two saving graces. The first is a strong cast, with really strong performances from Sophie Thatcher (Sadie) and Vivien Lyra Blair (Sawyer). They really do elevate this movie and get us invested in characters that are, honestly, very one-note and forgettable.
The main saving grace of this movie, though, is how it handles the horror. It takes a while before we actually see what we’re dealing with and the movie is at it’s absolute strongest before we get that reveal. The atmosphere of this movie is really well done and any shots of darkness, with the two red dots (showing the eyes of The Boogeyman) fill your mind with dread. When we do see the titular baddie, it’s only for a second and it’s difficult to actually register what we see; other than that it’s super creepy. Despite the lack of originality, this movie had me onboard with a really well crafted sense of creepiness and a great horror tone, that was lacking in the aforementioned Smile.
Who should watch this movie?
If you like simple horror movies, then you can add this movie to your watchlist. It’s a typical movie, with no real surprises, but if you just want to be scared – without having to use your brain – this is an effective movie. Even if you do like elevated horror, I wouldn’t not recommend this. You may not get what you’re looking for out of it – but there’s certainly some elements of it that you will enjoy.
If you’re easily frightened, though, give this one a miss. It’s not easy on your heartrate.
Why not check-out our ranking of 2023 horror movies so far?
This was a review for the 2023 movie “The Boogeyman”. Did this movie keep you awake all night, or did it make you want to go bump in the night? Let us know in the comments below.