Review: 'The Boogeyman' twists knots in your stomach with its simple thrills

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Boogeyman
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Director: Rob Savage
Writers: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Mark Heyman, Stephen King
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated: PG-13 for terror, violent content, teen drug use and some strong language

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Studio Synopsis: From the mind of best-selling author Stephen King comes “The Boogeyman.” High school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer are reeling from the recent death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.

Review: I can’t recall the last time I was truly unnerved by a horror film. Sure, movies like “Men,” “Raw,” “Hereditary,” and numerous others have unnerved me. But when was the last time I was scared? It might have been a late-night viewing in the mid-90s of David Cronenberg’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch.” Sleep deprivation on top of sleep deprivation and body horror don’t mix well.

I was wide awake walking into the theater to see “The Boogeyman.” I wanted to be so terrified that I’d explode into tears. Or, at the very least, I wanted to get lost in the story just enough to feel my stomach tighten up as the protagonist walked down a dark corridor.

Based on one of Stephen King’s early short stories, “The Boogeyman” follows teenager Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and her younger sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) as they cope with the recent death of their mother while their father (Chris Messina), a therapist, turns from them to focuses on his own pain. This leaves the girls vulnerable to the darkness that comes from insecurity. And something shifts in the shadows, a creature who feeds on lost and isolated people. Grieving children are easy prey.

Sawyer is particularly vulnerable. At night she carries a globe of light, rolls it into her closet to chase away whatever lingers there. The death of her mother introduces a new sense of fragility. What once was merely frightening has become terrifying.

Sadie, too old to believe in fairytale monsters, focuses on the empty places where her mother used to stand and the turbulent rise and fall of high school popularity. Initially, she doesn’t see the shifting in the shadows.

There is a familiarity to “The Boogeyman.” It’s not particularly groundbreaking. It is, however, effective in creating an uneasy mood and exploiting the vulnerability of its characters. I wasn’t afraid for myself, but I was afraid for them. It gets under the skin and that’s no small feat. I tend to be drawn toward more complex storylines, but simplicity works incredibly well here. My fathered died when I was 7 years old, a similar age to Sadie, and that made it easy for me to connect to her and the entwined fear and grief of the story.

Don’t let the PG-13 rating be a deterrent, there’s plenty of frights to enjoy here.