The Boogeyman
Stephen King’s 1973 short story is stretched into a flabby, formulaic full-length feature.
The dark night: Vivien Lyra Blair
Top tip: if you’re afraid of the dark, don’t live in an underlit house. On the surface, though, the Harper family seems a relatively rational, self-possessed trio. But then they don’t really talk to each other – not really – and under the circumstances communication would be a really good idea. Will Harper (Chris Messina), an accomplished therapist, is bringing up his two daughters on his own after his wife has been killed in a car accident. Neither girl – Sadie (Sophie Thatcher), a troubled teenager, and her ten-year-old sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) – are coping very well. And the eponymous monster in the closet really does like to prey on the vulnerable…
Stephen King’s original 1973 short story was pretty short and Rob Savage’s adaptation too often feels like it’s treading water. Not that the film isn’t well-made: the production design is proficient, the sound design effective and the three central performances are very strong indeed. Whenever Chris Messina is on screen, he manages instantly to project a real, complex human being, even in something as formulaic as this. And Sophie Thatcher (Showtime’s Yellowjackets) is destined for greater things, here playing a sixteen-year-old still unable to let go of her mother’s presence while dealing with the casual cruelty of her peer group at school. And Vivien Lyra Blair displays an almost preternatural stillness and wisdom as Sawyer, the little girl who knows that she shouldn’t really be afraid of the make-believe monsters of her imagination.
Where the film fails is in the writing (three credited scenarists is never a good sign), where each calibrated jump scare can be anticipated several beats ahead. And the visual clichés are pretty thick on the ground (and ceiling) as well. Had the director Rob Savage (Host) dedicated more time to the family dynamic and drawn on the evident talent of his three fine players, we would at least have had characters to care about. Instead, we are treated to the usual and predictable box of tricks of slamming doors and half-glimpsed shapes that have become the staple of B-movie horror. It is still possible to ignite such tired material, as witnessed so convincingly in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook and in the recent Candyman sequel. After all, most of us have a monster in the closet of our own making…
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu, LisaGay Hamilton, David Dastmalchian, Maddie Nichols, Leeann Ross, Han Soto.
Dir Rob Savage, Pro Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen, Screenplay Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman, Ph Eli Born, Pro Des Jeremy Woodward, Ed Peter Gvozdas, Music Patrick Jonsson, Costumes Kari Perkins, Sound Russell Topal.
20th Century Studios/21 Laps Entertainment/NeoReel-20th Century Fox.
98 mins. USA/Canada. 2023. UK and US Rel: 2 June 2023. Cert. 15.
