The Boogeyman is hampered by two huge problems. The first is the PG-13 rating which leaves most of the movie in the dark with scenes that are poorly lit. I guess ever since the ratings board felt that Dee Wallace Stone firing a shotgun at a door in The Frighteners was too intense for a PG-13 audience, filmmakers have decided the less that auduence can see the better. That must explain all those horror movies like Shutter and The Grudge that came out in the 2000s.
The other problem with the movie is that it has a great first act and goes nowhere after that. Mainly, it’s because much of the movie is an original concept only using the barebones of Stephen King’s 1973 short story as the set-up. The main focus revolves around a family dealing with grief. Dr. Will Harper (Chris Messina) is a therapist who lost his wife in a car crash. His oldest daughter, Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) is having to deal with the grief on top of teen angest.
One day, another grieving man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian wonderfully cast), arrives at Dr. Harper’s office which is also in his house, wanting to talk to him. Lester says all three of his children were killed by an evil entity. Will fakes like he’s going to the bathroom but calls the police when he’s sure he’s away where Lester won’t here him. But after a scuffle with some students at school, Sadie returns home to change her clothes and thinks she hears two people talking in a closet.
Will and Sadie discover that Lester has hung himself in the room where she heard the voices. But things get worst when a sinister creature begins to terrorize Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), Will’s younger daughter, as Sadie believes it’s connected to Lester’s suicide. Sadie begins to investigate more getting in touch with Rita (Marin Ireland), Lester’s wife, who lives in a house that is dilapidated…and dark.
Anyone watching this movie from another country will think America doesn’t have access to light bulbs. I feel to some degree Rob Savage, the director, couldn’t really handle a bigger movie like this which has a $35 million budget. He’s made three low-budget movies (Strings, Host and Dashcam) and I feel bit off more than he could chew. The pacing is off. The movie is too dull. Scenes go on longer than they should.
Also, we never get a good look at the titular character. Sometimes this can work as in Alien or The Babadook. But here, it feels like a CGI effect that wasn’t finished in time hence the dark lighting. The movie is dull. Dastmalchian is a nice small role and Thatcher shows a lot of promise as an actress. Messina seems to play in the typical straight man parent role that is common in these movies. And Blair (who was wonderful as a young Princess Leia in the Obi-Won Kenobi series) just seems to react a lot.
To be honest, this is one Boogeyman you won’t be afraid of.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 