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.
