As horror fans get dolled up for a spooky night on Halloween, I have taken a deep dive on the platform and watched one of the most terrifying horror movies on Disney+ so you don’t have to. I’ve never been one for gore and jump scares, but over the past ten years it’s fair to say I have become completely obsessed with everything true crime.
With this as my only qualification, I think I'm ready to take on the challenge and be utterly terrified for your benefit – don't say I never do anything for you! When I was researching for the spookiest horror movie on the platform, I came up with mixed results.
So, I had nothing left to turn to other than my instincts and good old IMDB. After taking a look around the site, I decided to settle on a film by arguably one of the best horror righters of the 21st century – Stephen King.
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Over the years, I've watched and enjoyed many of his books and their film adaptations, most recently being the chilling adaptation of It, portrayed by Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård. This time, I decided to watch the 2023 adaptation of The Boogeyman.
The new movie is an expansion of the short story of the same name, which focuses on the Harper family – dad Will (played by Chris Messina) and daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) – who find their house possessed with a terrifying entity. The film opens with the family dealing with the recent loss of their mother.
It doesn’t take long for the fear factor to rank up when a stranger named Lester (David Dastmalchian) comes to see Will at his home where he shares his encounter with the Boogeyman. Lester’s children were killed by the horrific figure, with the heartbroken dad desperate to unburden himself to therapist, Will.
But after the chilling encounter, Will unleashes the entity into the Harper home before he suffers a brutal death moments later. After a series of chilling jump scares which the daughters attempt to brush of as a trick of the light, Sadie seeks answers from Will’s wife Sadie.
Things quickly go from bad to worse when Rita attempts to use Sadie as bait to capture the Boogeyman. Luckily, she manages to escape but it’s at this point that she and the viewers can see the extent of the monster’s power and the effect it has on a family.
It admittedly takes some time before dad Will comes around to the idea that the monster is real, but his mind is quickly changed when he is attacked by the beast. As you do. When Sadie returns home from a house party, the Harper house is riddled with the black vein-line scars all over the walls which she found at Will’s home.
While she was out, dad Will and Sawyer face off against the creature, when Sawyer decides to hide in her bedroom wrapped in fairy lights to keep the monster away. Luckily, Sadie finds her sister and the pair stick together as they go down to the basement to find their dad.
It’s fair to say at this point I’m screaming at the screen, questioning why the main character’s always go down to the basement despite everything telling them not to. But every horror movie must follow at least a few of the classic tropes, and this just happened to be one of them.
From this point on, my face was firmly hidden behind a pillow as battle with the Boogeyman ensues. I'd highly recommend you watch the gripping 90-minute film at night, not only because it makes the experience even more terrifying, but also because 80 percent of the film is set in the evening.
Because of the setting, it makes it impossible to watch during the daytime if you want any chance of being able to actually see what’s making the scary noises in the film. I’d know – I tried when it got too scary.
As Sadie and Sawyer attempt to find their dad, a battle with the monster ensues which tries to suck the life out of Sadie. Luckily, Will hears their screams and the trio fight back in style.
The monster itself is a culmination of incredible CGI and utter nightmare fuel, with multiple legs that can only be akin to that of an enormous tarantula and more teeth than I was willing to count.
With nothing left to fight against the beast, Sadie sets the creature on fire using her mother’s lighter and an aerosol can. Eventually, the monster is defeated and Will, Sadie and Sawyer manage to successfully escape their house which is now engulfed in flames.
The film then cuts to the trio sat at the office of psychiatrist Dr Weller, who Sadie and Sawyer had been meeting throughout the movie to help them come to terms with the loss of their mother. This time, their dad is with them and the family reunite both in grief and relief that monster is defeated.
At this point, it feels like the film is wrapped up nicely as the family leave the doctor’s office, but like many horror films, this one makes you question if it is really over. In the final moments, Sadie goes back to the office to see Dr Weller when she discovers she’s missing – and the cupboard door is open.
After a few heartbeats, Dr Weller reappears and a relieved Sadie goes back out to her family as the movie ends. This perfectly sets up the opportunity for a sequel and although I was completely terrified watching this movie, I would definitely like to see where director Rob Savage will take this story next.
But, being the avid movie buff I am, I can’t help but mourn the loss of the characters after watching the gripping tale – I had to know more. Looking back at the 50-year-old short story – which is only a 10-page tale found in his collection of tales titled Night Shift if you’re interested – the ending is a little different to that in the film.
In King’s original tale, the story focuses on Lester Billings’ visit to Dr Harper and him explaining how his children died – which is the basis for the start of the movie. But in the book, Lester doesn’t commit suicide or pass the Boogeyman on to Harper.
The entire tale is set in the psychiatrist's office and the final paragraphs have Billings leave Dr Harper’s office – just as Sadie leaves Dr Weller’s at the end of the film. He also turns back and going into the office to find no one is there, just like Sadie, and writes: “The closet door was open. Just a crack.”
Billings then hears a creepy voice from the closet say “so nice” before the door swings open and the Boogeyman flies out. And if that doesn’t scare you enough, King’s final line of the story certainly will.
He wrote: “It still held its Dr Harper mask in one rotted, spade-claw hand.” So in the story, the Boogeyman was Dr Harper all along – very Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde-esque. It certainly leaves you wondering whether the producers will inject this aspect of the story into a possible sequel.
Overall, this movie does everything you would want from a classic horror film. It scares you to your core and even leaves you with a new phobia. Arguably, the film was a guaranteed success with its killer cast.
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Cinephiles will recognise doting dad and welcomed eye candy Chris Messina from hit films such as Ruby Sparks, Birds of Prey, and Away We Go. The equally talented David Dastmalchian certainly terrifies viewers and has starred in blockbuster hits such as The Dark Knight, Dune and The Suicide Squad.
Another recommendation for you before you invest yourself in this chilling film – make sure you’ve got a guaranteed feel-good show lined up for when you’ve finished. Mine was Family Guy, but this is definitely a pick-your-poison kind of remedy – excuse the pun.
Good luck trying to get an inch of shut eye after watching this thriller, I struggled to get a wink of sleep even after watching three episodes of the American cartoon classic. But one investment I have yet to regret is the nightlight in the hallway. Happy Halloween!
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