The adaptation of Stephen King’s The Boogeyman screened at CinemaCon 2023 in Las Vegas, and it sounds as though audiences are in store for something quite creepy. The first social media reactions from critics, including our own Chris Bumbray, hail The Boogeyman as an effective horror thriller with some great scares that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Based on the Stephen King short story of the same name, The Boogeyman follows high school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer as they reel from the recent death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims. The film stars Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets), Chris Messina (Sharp Objects), Marin Ireland (The Umbrella Academy), Vivien Lyra Blair (Bird Box), Madison Hu (Voyagers), and David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad).
A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck & Bryan Woods originally adapted the short story, with revisions by Black Swan writer Mark Heyman. Rob Savage (Dashcam) directed the movie. Stephen King has praised the work the writers did with The Boogeyman. “Sometimes filmmakers will add… what could you call it? ‘Stuffing’ to the story. Let’s call it ‘meat extender.’ A lot of times that doesn’t turn out so well,” King said last year. “Now, I’ve read a script for The Boogeyman and that is a terrific screenplay where the things that have been added to the story are not meat extender. They’re pretty good.“
The Boogeyman was once intended to debut on the Hulu streaming service, but will instead be released in theaters on June 2nd.