On May 31, the world premiere of the film "Boogeyman" took place. The horror turned out to be as original as its name.
In 1978, Stephen King's short story The Boogeyman appeared, translated as "And the Boogeyman Came." A short work in which a man visits a therapist tells about a mysterious villain living in a closet, but does not tell details about him.The first film with the name "Boogeyman" was released in 1980 and was a slasher about childhood trauma. Later he was provided with two sequels. But none of these were King's film adaptations.
In 2005, a new "Boogeyman" appeared — a horror about a monster living in a closet. He released two sequels, and later a Moroccan‑French remake was also shot on it. There was a little more from King than from his predecessors, but still a little."Boogeyman"-2023 relies on the original story more significantly than the previous pictures, but it still won't come out to call the film an adaptation.
Scott Beck and Brian Woods, the authors of "A Quiet Place", worked on the script, and Mark Heyman ("Black Swan") wrote the final version. The director's chair went to Rob Savage, who shot "Registrar" and Host (translated in Russia as "Astral. Online"). Starring Sophie Thatcher ("Hornets"), Vivien Lyra Blair ("The Tragedy in Waco") and Chris Messina (Air).
Psychotherapist Will Harper himself is raising two daughters after the death of his wife. One day a man comes to his reception claiming that his children were taken by a certain Boogeyman (in fact, only this scene is completely based on King's story). While Harper calls the police to protect himself from the patient, he kills himself in the closet. After that, Will's children begin to suffer from nightmares and obsessive visions — it seems to them that something terrible has settled in their house. Sadie's eldest daughter begins to study the notes left by the suicide to understand what is happening.
"Boogeyman" is only 98 minutes long, but it feels much longer. The fact is that there are only four or five bright and important plot twists in the film, and the pauses between them are filled with approximately the same scenes ‑ not only eventfully, but also visually.
Rob Savage decided to shoot the whole picture in the dark, so the house where the therapist's family lives is not bright — even during the day the rooms are gloomy. The devastation caused by the death of the girls' mother is also felt. But there are so few dialogues and actions that this emptiness makes you bored. In the first half of the film there is both tension and fear, but the more you get used to the darkness on the screen, the less emotions it causes.
In 2023, it's a bit embarrassing to scold horror for not being scary. Both post-horrors and slowberners come out more often than standard horror films, so you don't expect horror from the corresponding films anymore.
However, the "Boogeyman" is still trying to scare, it just doesn't work out. Seven or eight screeners scattered around the film can only affect a person who is watching a movie for the first time — they are too predictable. As a result, it's scary only for the characters — and then only because it's written in the script.
The Boogeyman almost does not appear on the screen, so his invisible presence causes more anxiety. This feeling rhymes with the feeling of loss that the characters experience.
Both the cause of grief and the cause of fear are off-camera for almost the entire film. While the gloomy atmosphere does not become a familiar background, the "Boogeyman" clings emotionally — at least causes discomfort. However, it is getting harder and more boring to watch it every minute, and therefore the climax is perceived not as the highest point of tension, but as a signal that the film will finally end soon.
The boogeyman is afraid of the light, and the heroes live in an ordinary house in our time. Therefore, it is not at all clear why the villain is constantly being scared off with candles and small lamps. No, it's clear that such details help to create tension for the viewer, but still ... maybe it's worth sleeping with the light on once so that nothing happens? Or use a flashlight on your smartphone? But heroes always choose the scariest option.
But that's not all. Three people live in the same house, but when one of them screams, the other family members do not hear anything. The father of the family is especially surprised — if children have nightmares, then maybe you need to be more careful? But he ignores everything.
In general, the eternal absence of a father in the lives of daughters is explained by the loss of his wife, but he is too distant. This is a character whose existence you sometimes forget. And of course, he doesn't believe in any Boogeymen, which he tells the children about. It was hardly possible to come up with a more standard and gray hero.
It is unlikely that the "Boogeyman" has too serious flaws, but there are many minor flaws — from a boring visual series to a dubious script. At the same time, the picture also has a huge trump card — Sophie Thatcher.
The actress pumps up nerves and fear much better than the thousandth hint of the presence of a Boogeyman for the film. Her heroine is both weak and strong, and timid, and brave — and this despite the fact that some scenes with her participation could be safely cut out because of their meaninglessness.
In general, after minor roles in "Hornets" and "Boba Fett's book"Thatcher didn't get a very good project, but she made the most of it.
"Boogeyman" is not a bad, but also not a shocking horror movie. If you accidentally go to a session, it is unlikely to disappoint you directly, but a week after watching it, you will hardly remember what happened in it at all. Director Rob Savage tried to squeeze out of the meager script at least a little fear , but it didn't work out.
