AT THE MOVIES

by Isy Jordan

The Boogeyman
Director: Rob Savage
Starring: Sophie Thacker, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, and more.


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.

Yes, I'm one of those horror fans that will show up, credit card in hand, if you name-drop Stephen King. I admit it. It's a problem. And The Boogeyman is based on one of his stories. That doesn't mean a lot. My favorite author has films as good as Misery, It, and The Green Mile and others as bad as Firestarter (the new one), Pet Sematary (the new one), and Children of the Corn (the new one, I'm seeing a trend).

The Boogeyman was a surprise. I expected a decent film in the same vein as Insidious or Doctor Sleep. No, this had all the emotional gravity and thrills of the movie I expected. But when it came to gore and scares, it's actually a whole-ass horror film.

And it has a lot going for it. Most of the cast were new to me which is always great in a horror film for adding to its realism. The writing was good, the cast was incredible, particularly the two young female leads playing sisters. They're suffering through the loss of their mother and the emotional abandonment of their psychologist father who seems lost for the same reason. On top of that, enter an entity who, like any demonic force, finds someone or someones who are already suffering some misfortune and then proceed to make their life a living hell. There are a few unanswered questions but for me, it was a compelling story with a satisfying ending that's left open just enough for the possibility of a sequel. I hope there is one.

I'll reiterate, the film has some gore and decent scares. How they shoved it all under a PG-13 rating, I'm not sure. But this might not be a good movie for younger teens despite the rating. It's 1 hour and 38 minutes which is perfect.

If you can catch this in the theatres, I recommend you do. Especially if you're a horror fan or a lover of thrilling, suspenseful stories. But do see it.

Isy