The Boogeyman - 4K Digital Review

[Michael Scott]

The Boogeyman

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
At this point and time Stephen King is synonymous with the word “horror”, and while he does have his missteps in cinema, I generally give films based upon his novels and short stories at least a chance. Couple that with the fact that Rob Savage was behind the director’s chair, and I became even more curious. Savage is one of those directors that isn’t going to shock and amaze you, but he’s done two previous horror entries in the form of Host (a haunted Zoom séance that goes horribly wrong) and Dashcam (which followed a rapping anti-vaxer’s trip into hell itself on a live stream) were both innovative and interesting takes on a dying genre (tech-horror). However, The Boogeyman follows a more tame and tried approach, with the classic monster jump scare type of film that is definitely aimed at being more mainstream (while he tries to make a PG-13 horror film scary as best he can). It’s not bad, but definitely follows some well worth horror principles that makes it easy to predict how the 99 minute film is going to turn out.

Starting out with a baby’s murder by an unknown being (yikes, going straight into the child violence taboo straight off the bat are we?), the film segues immediately to the Harper family who is reeling from the loss of their mother. Therapist Will Harper (Chris Messina) is trying to pick up the pieces of his wife’s passing and having to step into a role that he never was intended to fill, all the while trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and youngest Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). Things aren’t going well as it is, but their life is made infinitely worse when tortured Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) comes to the good doctor to talk about his problems with a mysterious being that supposedly killed his kids.

At first Doctor Harper isn’t inclined to believe the man, but his daughters soon start seeing the reflection of a monster hidden in the recesses of the dark house. Bit by bit the two girls start back tracking on where it came from and when it arrived in hopes of banishing it. But little by little they start to get sucked into a night mare land where their very lives are on the line.

The Boogeyman can be seen from multiple different angles. On the surface it is simply your average jump scare movie about a supernatural being trying to suck their souls dry. A literal boogeyman that hides in the dark and tries to eat you (how clever) when you’re at your weakest. On that front it succeeds as best it can with a PG-13 rating. The gore is very minimalistic, and the jump scares provide the only real terror in the film. I do applaud Savage for going so gung ho into the “violence against children” category as that is usually sort of an unspoken taboo in horror. Even in Stephen King stories (Pet Semetary is the one where even King allegedly admitted that he went too far in), but it adds to the creep factor and makes the standard faire PG-13 nature of the flick just a bit more creepy. Not enough to really make it amazing or anything, but enough to add some skin crawls.

The other way of looking at the film is straight from the “mind of Stephen King” as the extras likes to state. It can be seen as the boogeyman itself is simply fear and paranoia based upon grief. Was the monster real? Who knows. It simply may be a manifestation of the Harper’s grief over the mother’s death, and their triumph over the monster simply be an allegorical way of showing them triumphing over their pain and fear. Either way, the film itself is a solid little horror movie, but fails to really pave any new paths or ideas going forward. At the end of the day The Boogeyman is a moderately creepy jump scare monster movie that just works enough to be fun, but not enough to be a great film.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking




Video:

Sadly there will be no 4K UHD physical release to compare this 4K digital stream to, but needless to say the Vudu stream is quite nice to the eyes. The film is VERY VERY dark, with tons of blue and gray filters over the top, even in daylight shots. This means that black levels are paramount for showing details, and while I noticed the obvious bandwidth starved banding you associate with streaming, the image looks REALLY nice. Blacks are deep and inky, and fine details abound even in the heaviest of dark. Check out the tendrils and “monster droppings” (as I like to call them) that start lighting on fire near the end. Each line and each coil is perfectly replicated on screen at all times. Even the HDR and Dolbyvsion enhancements really pop in the dark (check out the bright red of the shotgun shell casings jammed in the wall). Overall, a solid looking 4K stream with very little digital noise or creamy blacks like I expect the Blu-ray is going to see (a weakness with the 1080p format).








Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track from the stream is more than capable as well, with a powerful and aggressive mixing that really punches you in the face with bass when the jumps start flying. The front channels are very solid with a nice dialog track that doesn’t disappoint, but it’s when the monster starts creaking and flitting around the room that things really take off. Overheads and surrounds go nuts with the little crackling of monster feet across the walls and ceiling, while the LFE channel is simply punishing with every door slam and monster leap throughout the film. It may not be a perfect Atmos track, but it certainly is quite a nice mix that put a smile on my face.







Extras:

• Into the darkness
• Outtakes
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

As I stated above, The Boogeyman is not going to blow your socks off, nor will it be innovative and boundary pushing like Rob Savage’s other horror projects. BUUUUUUUUUUT, it is also not a bad movie at all. While it isn’t nearly as great as the amazing Barbarian (which doesn’t have a physical release yet, grrrrrr) the film serves as a very solid popcorn jump scare monster movie with some really enjoyable scenes. Sadly the film is not getting a 4K UHD release (Blu-ray only), so I was pleasantly surprised at the 4K digital stream so as to get the boosted resolution and Atmos audio. Recommended for a fun popcorn watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair
Directed by: Rob Savage
Written by: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Mark Heyman
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles: English
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 99 Minutes
Digital Release Date: August 29th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Popcorn Watch

 

[Asere]

I will check this one out. Thank you for the review.

 

[Asere]

Did you ever see the 1980 The Boogey Man?

 

[Michael Scott]

Did you ever see the 1980 The Boogey Man?

Noooooo. I have not. But I definitely would like to