‘The Boogeyman’ Review: A Frightening Mess

“The Boogeyman,” based on a lesser-known Stephen King short story from the 1970s, is a film that may only be enjoyable in complete darkness or without fully functioning eyes. For the rest of us, this incomprehensible movie leaves us confused by its convoluted plot that fails to deliver on scares.

The story introduces Will Harper (Chris Messina), a psychiatrist who is dealing with the death of his wife, along with his teenage daughter Sadie (an excellent Sophie Thatcher) and younger daughter Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). Sadie is struggling with the death of her mother, which is affecting her school life, while Sawyer is having night terrors. Will, emotionally withdrawn, becomes intrigued when a disheveled stranger (David Dastmalchian) enters his office and claims that a supernatural being killed his three children and may now be following him.

Although unexpressed grief can create an environment for monstrous creatures, “The Boogeyman” fails to capitalize on its horror potential, instead delivering a muddled, confusing mess. The fleeting and distant images create little sense of tension with a vague storyline that begs numerous questions including, what does the creature want? Where did it come from? And, is there more than one? The movie’s eerie sound design does the heavy lifting, but it still struggles to compensate for the lack of clarity in the script. The characters’ screams for help seem to go unheard by family members in the same house, and instead of using a flashlight, they battle a creature that feeds on darkness by burning miniature candles.

As a result, the boogeyman never takes a satisfying shape, making the movie a frustrating and disappointing experience. The house feels like it was custom-built for the boogeyman rather than being someone’s home that the monster happened to invade.

The Boogeyman
Rated PG-13 for a hanging corpse, a malevolent molar, and an evil whatsit. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters.