A few years back I wrote about a small pandemic movie I loved called Host. It was a simple, microbudget, old fashioned scarefest that took place entirely over Zoom. Now the same director has a few movies under his belt and a larger budget to work with. His latest, The Boogeyman, is, no surprise, a simple, moderately–budgeted, old fashioned scarefest as well, only this time as a creature feature. He just knows how to keep it simple and bring the scares, regardless of budget. Here is the brief IMDB synopsis.
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
The director of The Boogeyman is Rob Savage, who I actually played with in horror trivia group recently. He’s a horror fanatic like the rest of us, and it shows with his movies. Like I said before, they just feel like simple, old fashioned scarefests. That is a feat that is not always as easy as it sounds. Here, with The Boogeyman, he’s got a Stephen King story as the foundation, a script written by some very good writers, really great actors, and a wonderfully creepy creature and effects. It’s kept very simple, and filled with suspense and jump scares that are excellently choreographed. Does it reinvent the wheel? No. But that’s not the point. It’s more about execution. And The Boogeyman did that for me. It’s not too extreme, and not too weak. It’s a good time for a wide audience.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Hulu or various PPV sites.
Food/Drink Pairing: Some squid ink noodles and a jägerbomb.
Musings of a Scary Horror Writer. 