Review of The Boogeyman, Rob Savage’s new horror film about the monsters that live in closets. Premiere June 2 in theaters.
In addition to being one of the brightest and most prolific writers of recent decades, horror master Stephen King is one of the main inspirations for creating new audiovisual products, whether for film or television. Some of them with questionable results, and others, brilliant, as is the case of The Boogeyman: The Bogeyman.
This new film based on one of the author’s most famous stories, comes to theaters ready to demonstrate that in terror it is not necessary to use viscera or extreme violence to make the spectators completely distressed in their movie seats. Well yes, originally intended for Disney+, finally The Boogeyman will hit theaters.
And all thanks to King’s intervention, that he was invited by the film crew to see The Boogeyman in a cinema and after viewing it he did not hesitate to write to its director, Rob Savage, lamenting that the tape went directly to television instead of going through theaters.
An email that the film crew used as the perfect excuse for put pressure on Disney to let The Boogeyman toured theaters around the world. And thank goodness, because the play of light, darkness, and noises out of shot are not enjoyed in the same way on the sofa at home as in a room with surround sound.
The essence of Stephen King
The truth is that it is not easy to convince Stephen King about the film adaptation of any of his works, because unlike other authors, The one from Maine has no problem gutting adaptations that don’t convince him. This is what he has been doing for years with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining despite the fact that it is considered one of the director’s most brilliant works.
However, it is not surprising that The Boogeyman has liked the author so much, since Savage has been able to transfer the pure essence of Stephen King to the big screen reflecting some of the issues that most obsess the director, such as the transition from childhood to adolescence, problems fitting in or the fear of being alone.
All of them reflected in the plot of the two leading sisters, Sadie and Sawyer, who they must learn to live with a father completely devastated by the accidental death of his wife as they face a being that haunts their own home at night and have to face a world in which they no longer fit.
And wonderful work carried out by the actresses Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair, who manage to perfectly embody that innocence and courage typical of the younger characters in Stephen King’s novels, who usually end up becoming heroes.
All this seasoned with some Brilliant scenes of true horror during which the lights, the sounds of blows, the doors closing or the movements out of shot of a spectral being make even the most skeptical spectator with horror movies end up cowering in their seats waiting for the next big scare (I know because it happened to me).
And this without spilling hardly any drops of blood and without enjoying the explicit violence that has made The Boogeyman eligible for an 16+ rating instead of being an adult-only one.
Small forgivable mistakes
Even though the plot of The Boogeyman is quite simple, since it tells the story of a family that begins to be harassed by a monster who is attracted to those people who have suffered a great loss, Rob Savage’s film errs, on some occasions, from the classic script holes typical of horror movies.
Perhaps to ensure that the tape does not exceed the more than 98 minutes that it lasts in total (a more than perfect and unusual figure in today’s cinema) or perhaps to avoid entangling the plot too much, it is inevitable to have the feeling that The Boogeyman It has a few loose fringes.
First of all, Sadie’s strange relationship with her schoolmates and that is not fully understood. Are they her friends? Are they just your companions? Has her attitude towards her changed after her mother’s death? It never becomes clear, making this part of the film a bit confusing.
And to this must be added the classic horror movie script holes to create “fright” moments. Like the inexplicable disappearances of characters, in this case the father, who do not find out anything despite the fact that knocks and screams are heard in the house or the need to walk around the house in complete darkness in the middle of the night while hearing noises.
Small details of which many horror films have sinned with worse results than the one Rob Savage gets in The Boogeyman, which also doesn’t affect the plot at all, rather they make it progress without too many bumps.
In summary, The Boogeyman: The Bogeyman It is a simple film, perfect for those who like horror movies, but also for those who want to remember that childish fear that some monster will come out of the closet while we sleep. Not to be missed at the cinema!
VALUATION:
The Boogeyman seems taken directly from the mind of Stephen King to the big screen, with a simple premise it manages to create a truly terrifying environment without using gore or graphic violence. It has its flaws, of course, but the end result works so well that they are forgiven.
THE BEST:
Rob Savage knows very well how to use sound, darkness and out of shot to create a truly terrifying environment.
WORST:
Some typical horror movie script holes. Who would throw away their only source of light in a completely dark hallway?
