Based on a Stephen King story, The Boogeyman is what I consider “good horror”. There is a strong storyline, at least at the beginning. But there are also dark corners of the film where the symbolizations are questionable. The Boogeyman is one of those supernatural horror films that will put its audiences’ gut to the test. I felt scared in increments, and The Boogeyman knows when to break in with jump scares. It is a film that will keep its audiences guessing what will come next.
The plot of The Boogeyman involves a widowed father, Will Harper (played by Chris Messina), who has two daughters to raise, Sadie and Sawyer (played by Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair). Will works long hours at his private practice as a counselor while also trying to help his daughters cope with their mother’s death. A man named Lester Billings (played by David Dastmalchian) comes into Will’s practice and explains disturbing events that have the potential to haunt Will and his daughters forever. With the girls already dealing with depression problems after the death of her mother, eerie scenarios begin for the Harper family. A weird spirit appears and all kinds of strange events begin to occur.
As the terror turns to danger, there is a growing fascination with The Boogeyman. Its dark backstory provides an element of surprise, because there are resolutions that are genius and superb as Will must do what he needs to do to protect Sadie and Sawyer from the spirit that has entered their life. There may be past events that are damaging, but they also provides hope. The Boogeyman challenges its characters and its audience to believe in what may be the right approach to fighting off the unexpected terror.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that The Boogeyman is a quite disturbing character. One way to explain what it looks like is that it’s almost like a monster paired with a wendigo, which is a Native American mythological creature or evil spirit. From my perspective it seemed a lot like a wendigo, specially with the weakness of the monster not liking lights. The creature is somewhat generic, but the film itself is still intriguing for its backstory.
So is Lester related to the evil spirit and these events? Is any of this related to the death of the girls’ mother? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel to the madness in The Boogeyman? Is there more to the events than its audience thinks? Is there a meaning that surrounds all the events that spiral into strange patterns? See for yourself and find out in The Boogeyman. It is a ride that is creepy but invigorating. Three out of four stars for The Boogeyman.
Movies with Tarek 