The countdown is officially on once again to the start of the annual holiday season. Whether people want to admit it or not, Halloween is the start of said time of year, not Thanksgiving. Now having gotten that out of the way, the annual season of scares (this critic really should copyright that term if it hasn’t already been copyrighted, right?) is celebrated in large part with lots of scary movies. Fittingly, 20th Century Studios is set to bring its own attempt at scary to home release Oct. 10 in the form of its adaptation of author Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman. Originally featured in King’s short stories collection, Night Shift, the movie made its theatrical debut only three months ago and was justifiably met with more than its share of criticism from audiences and critics alike. Now even as it prepares to make its way to home release, even the bonus content that accompanies it is not enough to save it. There is maybe one saving grace here, and that is the fact that it does faithfully take on various paranormal fare. To that end, this will be discussed shortly. The execution of the story, what with all of its horror story tropes ultimately sinks the movie and will be addressed a little later. While the bonus content that accompanies the movie in its home release does little if anything to save the movie, it also does not hurt the presentation, either. To that end it will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of The Boogeyman’s presentation. All things considered they make The Boogeyman a sadly scary terrible story that is a forgettable flick for any horror movie fan.
As the countdown to Halloween is on, most people out there are looking for a way to *ahem* get into the “holiday spirit.” Yes, that horrible pun was intended. Sadly, 20th Century Studios’ recently released adaptation of author Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman – which is due to be released Oct. 10 on physical and digital outlets – is not a way for any horror movie fan to get into the swing of things. Its sole saving grace is its story. The movie’s story centers on a pair of sisters – Sadie and Sawyer Harper – who are forced to fight off an evil demonic creature that has attached itself to them after their father tries to counsel a troubled man named Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian – The Dark Knight, The Suicide Squad, Dune) who believes he killed his child. As it turns out, the evil being was responsible for the death, not Lester. Lester meets his own sad end shortly after so as a result, the so-called “Boogeyman” attaches itself to the sisters (played respectively by Sophie Thatcher – Yellowjackets, The Book of Boba Fett, Prospect – and Vivien Lyra Blair – Obi-Wan Kenobi, We Can Be Heroes, Bird Box). The concept of an evil being (or a spirit in general) attaching itself to people is actually a very familiar topic in many paranormal cases. That being the case, some form of negative energy or a negative being attaching itself to someone who is already suffering emotionally is believable and in turn makes for a setup that gives audiences at least some reason to watch the movie.
Now while the story’s central plot is reason to watch The Boogeyman, the execution thereof and all of the horror tropes that are used throughout the course of the story end up sinking the movie. Throughout the course of the movie’s 90-plus-minute run time (it actually comes in at less than two hours), there are so many moments when the execution proves so campy and generic. From the sisters going to investigate by opening doors in darkened rooms and looking under beds, (which happens in nearly every horror story out there) when they shouldn’t have, to a moment late in the story when Sawyer should have turned on the lights to get rid of the monster (considering she told Sophie the monster hated lights) the way the story unfolds is anything but original. What’s more, the dialogue that is used throughout those scenes and so many others makes the movie even more unbearable. It is dialogue that is just as familiar as the all-too-familiar tropes used from point A to B and is just so campy. As if that isn’t bad enough, there are so many “whisper scenes”. For those who might not know, “whisper scenes” are exactly that. They are scenes in which the dialogue is delivered entirely in hushed tones and whispers. It is a way overused element for dramas and thrillers, and this story is no exception to that rule. Between those overused scenes, the awful dialogue and the equally predictable (and in turn boring) horror tropes, the overall execution of what is an otherwise interesting story setup makes this movie so embarrassing and anything but scary. Keeping that in mind, this movie’s execution seals its own scary fate in the end.
Knowing that the execution of The Boogeyman’s story ultimately dooms this less than scary story, there is still at least one more item to examine since the movie will soon make its way to homes everywhere. That element is the movie’s bonus content. The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming home release neither saves nor hurts the movie’s presentation. Audiences get to hear from the cast and crew about their love of Stephen King and the standard, mandatory back-patting amongst themselves for their work. There is no discussion at all on the design of the boogeyman and how it was developed. There is also no discussion on the topic of real life situations or experiences that any of the cast and/or crew may or may not have had in their own lives. Maybe they didn’t have any, but there was nothing in the bonus content to really help audiences connect anymore with the movie. Yes, it is interesting to hear how the cast and crew worked on the movie, but that is about all that audiences get from the bonus content. To that end, this aspect of the movie neither adds to nor detracts from the overall presentation. As a result, the movie will likely end up being just as forgettable once it hits home release as it was when it made its brief theatrical run this summer.
20th Century Studios’ cinematic adaptation of author Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman, is one of this year’s biggest cinematic shortfalls. It is a movie that any true horror fan will find is worth watching maybe once but sadly no more than that. This revelation will be made when viewers note that other than its actually believable setup, there is little if anything else to appreciate. The all-too-familiar horror movie tropes and equally cheesy (and too familiar dialogue) ruins the story’s execution and ultimately makes it fail. The bonus that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming home release does little if anything to improve the presentation. Yes, it does offer some light insight, but little else. Keeping all of this in mind, The Boogeyman ultimately proves to be scary only because it is such a forgettable entry in the bigger realm of horror films.
The Boogeyman is scheduled for release Oct. 10. More information on this and other titles from 20th Century Studios is available at:
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