Many of Stephen King’s horror works, including novels and short stories, have turned into movie adaptations. Some were highly successful, namely the It two-parter. Some others, such as Thinner and The Night Flier, were straight-out fiascos. This year, director Rob Savage adapted King’s 1973 short story The Boogeyman into a feature movie with A Quiet Place screenwriting duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods alongside Black Swan‘s Mark Heyman.
The movie stars Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair as the Harper sisters. They are still reeling from the recent death of their mother in an automobile accident. After their father, Will (Chris Messina), gets an unexpected visit from a mysterious patient named Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), what follows is the presence of the titular supernatural entity. Besides its overall premise, below are reasons why The Boogeyman is one of the creepiest Stephen King-based horror movies ever made.
Director Rob Savage Taps the Relatable Fear of the Dark
A major plot element in The Boogeyman centers around the entity terrorizing the children in the dark. The movie has many scenes that take place in dimly lit or pitch-black darkness. It’s there that Savage makes good use of this visual motif to evoke a foreboding sense of ominous dread and suggestive imagery. The latter is especially true since it triggers the audience’s mind into wondering whether the entity is lurking somewhere in the shadows.
The Movie Offers Plenty of Effective Scares
The extensive use of darkness and shadows allow Rob Savage to stage some of the most effective jump scares seen in a Stephen King-based horror movie. Case in point, there’s a scene revolving around Vivien Lyra Blair’s Sawyer Harper. Basically, she heard something in her bedroom and uses her light ball to suss out the possible evil presence. Needless to say, the scene is remarkably staged with Savage’s excellent camera placement and creepy sound design. Eli Born’s constantly eerie cinematography was the cherry on top.
Among other noteworthy scenes includes one that takes place in an office. It revolved around a therapist using a flashing red light as psychotherapy for the Harper sisters to face their fear. That scene is another testament to Savage’s know-how direction in creating genuine frights. Interestingly enough, he successfully does so with an otherwise mainstream-friendly PG-13 rating. This proves a scary horror movie doesn’t have to be R-rated to make a point.
Great Performances from Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair
The Boogeyman isn’t only technically proficient in terms of generating scare. The movie also excels in bringing out the best in Thatcher and Blair as Sadie and Sawyer Harper. Savage does a good job establishing their dynamics as two sisters looking out for each other.
It also helps that Thatcher and Blair deliver engaging yet sympathetic performances. This allows the audience to root for their terrifying ordeal. Besides, they are just kids who already shoulder the emotional burden of coping with the loss of their mother, only to be put into another rough patch to deal with.
The Movie Features a Terrifying Monster
Savage seems to be taking a cue from Steven Spielberg’s visual playbook from Jaws. That’s how to make an effective horror movie revolving around a creature. Like that groundbreaking 1975 classic, he made the smart choice of predominantly obscuring the presence of the titular monster.
That means audiences can only see the monster skulking in the dark or in the shadows. The monster’s movement is often swift and sudden, making it scarier and more threatening than relying heavily on a full-on reveal. No doubt, the power of suggestion can trigger an audience’s subconscious in basic fear.
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