Pooja Sharma
A galore of fright and fear, ‘The Boogeyman’ follows the story of a high school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer, who are still aggrieved about their mother’s death. With little support from their father, Will Harper, a therapist, the two sisters try to deal with the immense loss themselves. One day, however, a desperate patient lands on the door of the family, seeking help. Upon distilling the horrors of his own past, he leaves behind a monster that preys on the family. Helmed by Rob Savage, ‘The Boogeyman’ focuses on a story where the monsters hiding in the shadows really do come true.
The horror movie features compelling performances by Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Madison Hu, Chris Messina, Marin Ireland, and Lisa Gay Hamilton. Embodying horror and paranoia in the form of a terrorizing monster, ‘The Boogeyman’ is quite similar to the number of monster-under-the-bed stories. So, if you’re also wondering if there is any facticity to the story of loss and horror, look no further because we’ve got all the answers. Let’s dive in!
The Boogeyman is Entirely Fictional
‘The Boogeyman’ is not based on a true story. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods created the story and wrote the screenplay along with Mark Heyman. However, the monster in the movie has been inspired by renowned author Stephen King’s short story, ‘The Boogeyman,’ which was first published in 1973. Elevating the story by throwing the murkiness of familial bonds, the writers of ‘A Quiet Place’ maximize the significance of the monster through the loss suffered by the sisters and their father.
Like the original rendition penned by author Stephen King, Lester becomes the harbinger of evil that infests the family. Unlike its literary counterpart, however, the movie dives deep into the emotional turmoil of Dr. Harper’s family and does not carry the same twist ending of the short story. Additionally, in an interview with Dread Central, director Rob Savage expressed how he wanted to create an opus that didn’t necessarily abate to a creature feature but also had the undertones of a haunted house film.
An additional authenticity was added to the fictional character through Stephen King’s reaction to the process. Not only did the author read the script, but he also remained in close contact with director Rob Savage and shared his enthusiasm about the project. Along with its literary inspiration, the movie explores different themes as well. While the theme of fear is pivotal to the story, the narrative also explores the balance between imagination and reality.
From a terrifying therapy session convincing Sawyer that monsters aren’t real to the family’s initial denial, the story pivots the dichotomy of imagination and reality more than once. The writers also take special care to angle the story in a realistic vein. By aligning the premise with the guilt felt by the father for ignoring his daughters’ emotions and grief, the movie embodies a number of consequential themes that propel the monster to prey on the family.
As such, Lester’s unimaginable loss and consequent bewilderment in Stephen King’s short story are transformed into the loss of the two sisters who seek calm and peace but are left with the opposite in the movie. In addition to the spine-chilling horror induced by the monster, the film also carries the faint trembles of a haunted house. A number of sequences hint at the possibility of supernatural entities within the house before the monster unleashes its reign of terror.
All in all, director Rob Savage weaves a number of themes into the story and does not limit ‘The Boogeyman,’ to a creature. So, even though the film does not hold any life-like similarities, it is still based on an infamous monster created in the mind of author Stephen King. Nevertheless, the creators have coalesced the fictional story with their own twist to make ‘The Boogeyman,’ a scary horror movie.
Read More: Best Movies Based on Stephen King’s Books
