Movie Review: The Boogeyman

I think The Boogeyman was doomed from the start.

Not because of the director. Because Rob Savage, whose first movie Host I was banging my drum about just a few weeks ago, is a really interesting new talent in the horror genre. His second feature, after such a great debut, was always going to be a must-see for me, and I still think he’s a great director and can’t wait to see where he goes next.

An adapting a Stephen King story seems to be a rite of passage for creators in horror now, and The Boogeyman is one of King’s better ones, so it’s not that. It’s not the cast either, with Chris Messina. Sophie Thatcher, and Vivian Lyra Blair making up the family at the centre of this monster-under-the-bed flick. It’s not the writing, it’s not the cinematography, it’s not even the story – no, The Boogeyman was doomed because this particular horror subgenre has gone beyond the point of no return.

About twenty minutes into The Boogeyman, I realised I knew exactly where this film was going and exactly what beats it was going to hit. This particular take on the genre – monster as a metaphor for the loss of a loved one, innocent family tormented by grief and the creature who exploits it – is, unfortunately for this movie, pretty much standard-issue for the horror genre by this point, and it feels like everybody’s had a crack at this in the last few years, with varying levels of success. It’s moderately interesting as a premise the first few times, but The Boogeyman doesn’t bring enough to the premise to make it feel anything other than a retread of well-stamped ground.

Predictability might seem like an odd thing to critique in the horror genre, given how formulaic many of the big franchise hitters are, but usually those have an element of fun and camp to them – yes, we know what’s going to happen, but it’s delivered with a nod and a wink that keep it engaging. The Boogeyman’s dour tone doesn’t allow for this kind of playfulness, and, despite competent execution from everyone involved (especially Vivian Lyra Blair, who has the “adorably spunky little girl” market cornered for the time being), it’s inescapable: we’ve seen this. We’ve seen it a lot. We’ve seen it so much that you have to do something exceptionally special, either with the execution or the tone, to make it feel worthwhile in a horror landscape crowded by this kind of movie.

The Boogeyman isn’t a rough movie because of anyone involved – it was just doomed from the start to fade into irrelevancy against the backdrop of much better films handling this plot in a more interesting way.

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By Lou MacGregor

(header image via Collider)