The Boogeyman

Truly, this movie was screwed over with its title. I know it's an adaptation, but "The Boogeyman" makes it sounds like a bottom-of-the-bargain-bin DVD movie. But while far from original, this is a thoroughly well-crafted, at times thoughtful horror film.

By far, this is one of the most frightening PG-13 movies I've seen. Director Rob Savage has a lot of talent, and he wields the camera with style and with care. Excellent sound design and mixing, as well as a smart subdued musical score, build anticipation for each scare and don't let up the tension once something has been revealed.

The monster is horrifying in its design, but Savage wisely doesn't show it to us very often, and never really shows it to us in detail. Dark, oppressive atmosphere pervades the screen and it leaves a lot of distressing things to the imagination.

While this isn't the first film to hold grief or trauma as a metaphor for its monster, it's done quite well here. The family dynamics in this script are restrained and well-realised, with satisfying thematic payoff at the end.

I have only one major issue with the film, and that's that the characters seem to easily brush off when they see horrifying things. They didn't sell the paranoia at all. And at a couple points Sadie finds potential proof of the monster's existence but never does anything with it. Perhaps there was some material left on the cutting room floor that fills in these gaps, but we may never know.

Still, this is a supernatural scare-fest that's several cuts above average and I would truly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a decent story with their spooks.

I can't understand what some people are looking for. Horror movies can't get way better than this. If you are a horror snob, that's ok, but not every horror director is brilliant as Aster or Eggers. If you don't lower your expectations, almost every new horror movie will bring you more disappointment than enjoyment.

Rob Savage is a good horror director, i would even call him a hope for horror genre. I enjoyed his previous movies. BOOGEYMAN is even better. It's the best horror movie since SMILE.

Not a masterpiece for sure, it's flawed. I could live with less jump scares, they seem overused here. Furthermore, i would prefer for the monster to appear less on the screen. It would be more menacing if it didn't constantly pop out here and there. First half of the movie was scary. But, as it progressed, i got desensitized. It was not that scary anymore and there were some pacing problems in the second half.

However, the sum of it was good. Great acting, especially the young girls. Likeable characters: Not something usual in horror movies nowadays. I cared for them and there were many intense scenes that made me anxious. Spooky atmosphere, constant dread, viewer doesn't relax for a second. Monster was a great villain, i really hated it. I won't reveal the ending but i found it very good.

In general, this is not brilliant, neither groundbreaking or mindblowing. But it does what a good horror movie suppose to do. And, i repeat myself but i must emphasize about the characters. It's important for a horror movie to have likeable characters, i watched many ridiculous horror movies in which i didn't care if they live or die. BOOGEYMAN suceeds because these characters are very likeable. That's a lesson that every horror director should learn.

Never in human history has mankind had access to such a wide variety of lighting implements for virtually any lighting need.

You've got LED flashlights packed with thousands of lumens. Battery powered, solar powered, you name it. Even a cheap dollar store flashlight these days is capable of lighting up your entire backyard so you can see who's been stealing your underthings.

Headlamps? We got headlamps. Get one with a rechargeable battery pack and you'll never be without hands free lighting again.

Why not try the Ryobi work light, which will blast 4,200 blinding lumens at that hard to reach manifold, difficult basement job, or closet dwelling creature trying to eat your kids. It's powered by the popular ONE+ battery so you'll never be in the dark again.

Want something more budget friendly? Strap on a puck light or grab a packet of glow sticks at the dollar store (deep down, didn't you know we'd be back at the dollar store again?) and light up your world for mere pocket change.

Of course, if an ancient evil creature is menacing your family and that creature exists only in the dark, you may choose to go without all of these lighting needs and try fighting it with... Oh, I dunno. An bulk supply of tea candles? Your dead mom's almost-out-of-juice zippo lighter? Some 1970s era Christmas lights that depend on an extension cord, even though electrical power seems to be out all over the house?

Now, see here. I actually enjoyed The Boogeyman to some extent, because the scenes were shot well and it was decently acted. But come on. If even one of the bonehead characters in this movie had made just a cursory trip to Harbor Freight (I like to plug aaaall the stores,) they could have completely vanquished that rather feeble creature the very first night. Hell, what I keep in my glove compartment would have sent that Predator-wannabee packing lickety split.

I'm sorry, but when you get right down to it, that boogey creature wasn't all the powerful. In fact, the most dangerous thing it seemed to accomplish was the spreading of mold throughout the house. That's gonna cost the family a pretty penny to eradicate. Too bad they don't have a Tractor Supply, Dollar Tree or Harbor Freight in their neighborhood.

Kind of a cool movie and some scary scenes, but you have to suspend belief a little too much for it to really sink it. I mean, gee whiz, fellas. They make bright lights with little motion sensors on them now, because we live in a time of wonders.

Fairly enjoyable dark and creepy, jump scare fest.

Its a terrible title - makes it sound like an 80's straight to video affair.

Get past the title and what you have is a fairly enjoyable horror movie.

Theres not much any horror fan won't have seen many times - something goes bump in the night, the person experiencing it is not believed, things escalate... Jump scares.

Its fairly well done. It got a little silly towards the end that took me out of it a bit, but for the most part its enjoyable.

I doubt I'll watch it again or see it as a milestone film, but not every movie is a classic - some are just an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes or so.

Refreshingly it is only 90 ish minutes rather than the current trend for over long posterior numbing.

This could have been a great horror film. The dread is there, the sets and lighting is perfect. You never really get a good look at the creature, and I felt that worked towards making the film much more suspenseful. The acting is all servicable and the characters feel real, for the most part. My issue with the film was how closed up the father was towards his wifes death and talking with his daughters about it. Seemed very unrealistic for how close they all seemed and only frustrated me in the end.

The pacing was also very off. The opening seemingly took forever to get to any of the good stuff, and when it does get there, we're thrown from scene to scene with almost no set up to it. Some of it felt like they were just throwing ideas for scary scenes at us. Almost as if they had no connection to the story other than the creature and the protaganists.

The film actually started out as a 1.5/5 stars but worked it's way up to 3/5 by the end of it. If the director and writers didn't put the effort into making us care about the characters, then it would've stayed a 1.5, but thankfully, they grew on me and by the end of the film, I was hoping they would make it out alive.

Overall, not a bad film. Slightly above average, but just be aware that it is not a perfect horror film and it does have it's fair share of problems and pacing issues throughout.

3 bumps in the night out of 5.