The Most Brutal Moments In The Boogeyman
As one of the most prolific horror writers of all time, Stephen King has provided a veritable treasure trove of material for filmmakers looking to take a stab at the genre. For example, Rob Savage, who's best known for his Zoom-based horror movie "Host," drew on King's 1973 short story "The Boogeyman" for his 2023 feature; fans of Savage's breakout feature will recognize a meaningful Easter egg in the director's King adaptation.
Like many of the films made in this era of so-called "elevated horror," the monster in "The Boogeyman" serves as a metaphor for psychic pain. In this case, the title creature is a manifestation of grief, preying on those who have been touched by loss or sadness. In the film, "Yellowjackets" star Sophie Thatcher plays Sadie Harper, a teenage girl who has just lost her mother in a car accident. Her father (Chris Messina) is a therapist, but refuses to talk about what's happened, leaving Sadie alone with her pain as she cares for her little sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair).
While "The Boogeyman" is about reckoning with one's grief, it's also a spooky movie with plenty of scares. The idea that the monster that you were afraid of as a child is actually real should be enough to make you plug in that old nightlight. Still not getting the shivers? Then join us for a walk down memory lane as we recount the most brutal moments in "The Boogeyman."
Let's start by killing a kid
"The Boogeyman" begins with a scene we don't often see in horror movies: the murder of a child. A young girl sits up in her bed, startled by a door creaking open. We hear a voice telling the girl that it's all right, that it's only her father coming in to say hello. But something is clearly amiss. The girl cries, and blood splatters against the wall. Welcome to "The Boogeyman."
Later, we meet Lester (David Dastmalchian), the girl's dad, who insists that he didn't kill his kids. Rather, he says, his children were killed by a monster they called the Boogeyman, a creature he didn't believe was real until it was too late. He shows Will (Chris Messina) a picture of the Boogeyman, and Will promptly puts it away. The monster's face remains a mystery.
This opening sequence establishes that no one is safe, not even young children. It also confirms that the monster hiding in our closets is very real, and that it's more terrifying than any nightmare. It can even mimic the voices of those we love the most, lulling us into a false sense of security until bam! Blood on the walls. If you're looking to kick off your horror flick with a shock, there's no better way to start.
Kids are mean!
As you'd expect, the majority of the horror in "The Boogeyman" comes from the monster stalking Sadie and Sawyer. However, there are smaller, more ordinary moments in the film that pack just as much of a punch. Case in point: the way that Sadie and Sawyer's "friends" treat them following their mother's death. On her first day back at school, Sadie wears her mother's orange dress. She opens her locker and finds a spoiled lunch inside — the last meal that her mother ever packed for her. When a mean girl taunts Sadie about wearing a dead woman's clothes, the rotten food spills all over the dress.
Later, as Sawyer's school bus rolls up to the Harpers' house and her classmates spot police cars outside, a girl yells, "Your dad's not dead too, is he?" Both of these moments are shocking because of the banality of their brutality. Can you imagine teasing someone for losing a parent? Haven't Sadie and Sawyer been through enough? Apparently not, because they end up with more to worry about than school bullies. Still, we kind of wish the Boogeyman would go after these young tormentors instead.
Therapy is no match for the Boogeyman
Sadie's little sister, Sawyer, has a common childhood fear: She's afraid of the dark. Sadie and her dad tolerate it, but they don't really understand it. The Boogeyman, however, targets kids just like Sawyer, which is why she's the first to see the creature. She initially encounters the Boogeyman under the bed, where you'd expect to find a monster like that. However, a later scene shows that the Boogeyman isn't confined to closets or bedrooms.
In her office, Sadie and Sawyer's therapist slowly dims a red light to prove that there's nothing hiding in the shadows. The problem? There is something hiding in the shadows. As the light disappears, Sawyer clutches her big sister and sees it: the Boogeyman, perched in the upper corner of the room like an enormous spider. It's the best view of the monster we've gotten so far, and it's an awful sight to behold.
What's even more unnerving is how neither Sadie nor the therapist believe what Sawyer has seen. They both think the Boogeyman is the product of Sawyer's vivid imagination, which rattles the girl even more. Seeing a horrible monster is dreadful, but you know what's even worse? Not having anyone believe you.
Stay in the light
After Sadie discovers her dad's conversation with Lester and realizes that Sawyer has been seeing the same monster as his kids, she sets out to find answers. At Lester's house, she runs into his beleaguered wife, Rita (Marin Ireland). Rita has developed a system for staying ahead of the Boogeyman, lining the hallways with candles that she keeps lit at all times.
When Sadie accompanies Rita upstairs, the Boogeyman joins them, too. Rita sees it, and tells Sadie, "Don't move. Stay in the light." As Sadie stands completely still, Rita points the shotgun past her head, aiming at something we never see. It's clever to withhold sight of the monster from both the character and the viewer, as the mystery only heightens the suspense. Though we already know that the Boogeyman is not a figment of a child's imagination, this scene upholds a classic horror precept established in films like "Alien": Monsters are scariest when we can't quite make them out.
Nightmares become reality
The Boogeyman is often associated with nightmares, so it follows that the real monster uses the dream world to its advantage. Though Sadie doesn't believe her little sister at first, the creature soon haunts her as well. After she comes home from her troubling encounter with Rita, Sadie stomps into her room and slams the door. Then, things get murky. Seconds later, Sadie is in bed with something's long dark arm reaching down her throat. She sits up suddenly, revealing that she was dreaming — or was she?
Unable to stop coughing, Sadie reaches for a glass of water to quell the tickle in her throat. It's not clear what's happening. Is the Boogeyman literally inside of her? Was her nightmare a psychological response to trauma? Is it a combination of both? The ambiguity is what's frightening here. Sadie fears that she's losing her mind, though she remains determined to fight the Boogeyman however she can. It's a brief sequence, but this moment is one of the film's most unsettling.
Where did that tooth come from?
In "The Boogeyman," Sawyer encounters a classic coming-of-age milestone: losing a tooth. After she falls out of bed following a traumatic rendezvous with the Boogeyman, her loose tooth hangs on by a thread. Sadie decides to solve the problem using a tactic perfected by her mother, tying the offending tooth to a door. However, before she slams the door shut, a mysterious force — hint hint — closes it for her. Sawyer is shocked, but at least her tooth is finally out.
This is not the last time we see the tooth. Remember when that strange limb was lodged in Sadie's throat? Well, in an attempt to improve her social standing, Sadie invites her "friends" over and offers them a joint. However, when she takes a hit, she starts coughing uncontrollably. It's not just the weed. Sadie retreats to the bathroom and pulls a long string out of her throat; guess what's at the end?
We assume that the Boogeyman stuck the tooth down her throat during the nightmare sequence, creating an effective moment of body horror in a film that mainly deals in creature-based frights. And, of course, the mean girls offer Sadie no sympathy at all, which only intensifies her agitation.
The closet strikes again
Poor Sadie can't catch a break. Following the unpleasant tooth incident, the girls ask Sadie to show them the closet where Lester hanged himself. Still hoping to prove herself, Sadie agrees. When they get to the closet, though, the girls close the door, trapping Sadie in a room with an honest-to-God monster.
This scene is the first time that Sadie comes face to face with the Boogeyman, and her terror is palpable. When she does eventually escape, her friend Bethany (Madison Hu) insists that the door was stuck, but the damage is done. Any desire Sadie had to reconcile with her friends vanishes; she slaps the meanest girl in the group and they flee the house in shock.
There are several reasons why this scene is so chilling. First, there's the encounter with the actual monster, which finally convinces Sadie that the Boogeyman is real. Then, there's the lack of support she gets from her friends, which further isolates Sadie and makes her more vulnerable. Sawyer and Sadie continuously go through the wringer throughout the film, and it's not close to over yet.
No more PlayStation for you, young lady
The opening scene of "The Boogeyman" establishes that even kids aren't safe from harm, a theme that recurs near the end of the film. As Sadie's girls' night goes up in flames, Sawyer happily plays PlayStation. Two bright spots that look suspiciously like eyes interrupt her respite. Sawyer tries to flush out the monster with her game, but the light from the TV isn't bright enough.
Suddenly, the Boogeyman jumps over the couch and throws Sawyer into the television which cracks under the weight of her body. At this point, we're familiar with how the Boogeyman looks and behaves, but we've never seen it act with so much force. It's probably the most shocking moment of the film because of how brutal the attack is. We're aware that the Boogeyman can hurt people, but seeing a child assaulted like this is startling. Sawyer is nothing if not a fighter and she recovers from the blow, but the Boogeyman isn't done with the Harper family yet.
Sadie becomes bait
It's not surprising that Rita, who just lost her entire family, is a little unstable. However, despite the woman's strange behavior, Sadie believes in Rita's commitment to stopping the Boogeyman; what she doesn't expect is the role she plays in Rita's plan.
After Rita tells Sadie to come over, she doesn't wait long before revealing her true intention: tying Sadie up and using her as bait. Sadie is, of course, horrified to be at the Boogeyman's mercy with no means of escape. But it seems like Rita's plan might actually work, at least at first. Sadie lures the monster out, giving Rita a chance to shoot it several times with her shotgun. Rita thinks she's won, but the creature leaps up and tears her limb from limb, giving Sadie a chance to free herself.
Other than Sawyer, Rita was the only person Sadie knew who believed in the Boogeyman, and her death adds another loss to Sadie's ever-growing list. Rita puts Sadie in literally the worst possible position — restrained and defenseless against a murderous monster — but Sadie isn't done fighting. And so, the deadly battle continues.
A basement climax
As in all good monster movies, the final act of "The Boogeyman" takes place in a basement. Will finally starts listening to Sadie, but much too late. The Boogeyman grabs him and Sawyer and takes them to the basement, stringing Will up like a lamb for the slaughter. Sawyer, who's really the smartest member of the family, covers herself in Christmas lights for protection.
The entire basement sequence is a harrowing affair, but one moment stands out in its sheer depravity. Sadie faces down Boogeyman, who shows her how horrific it can become. A hand reaches out of the monster's mouth, recalling the arm it forced down Sadie's throat earlier. The creature then opens its jaws to an obscene degree, morphing into something even more dreadful than before. Finally, there's another head inside its moth — a head that looks like it might belong to Sadie's mother.
This terrible transformation explains why the Boogeyman is so good at mimicking other people, bringing to mind the sinister mimicry scene near the end of "Annihilation." We're not exactly clear on how the Boogeyman's biology works — it seems to have superhuman abilities, but can still be injured — but the mystery is part of what makes it such a creepy monster.
Is it really over?
After everything they've been through, doesn't the Harper family deserve a little peace and quiet? One would think so, but the film's ending hints at a more ominous ending. Will finally agrees to go to therapy with the girls, where they have a bit of a breakthrough. They leave the therapist's office closer than ever. Then, a voice invites Sadie back inside.
Sadie thinks the therapist is calling her, but when she returns, no one's there. She sees the closet door and her heart sinks. So does the viewer's. As she moves to open the door, the therapist returns, wondering what she's doing there. Sadie never gets a chance to see what's inside, but the implication is clear: The Boogeyman hasn't been vanquished.
This scene may not be brutal in a violent sense, but it is brutal from a narrative standpoint. The Harper family has already experienced an unfathomable amount of pain and heartbreak, and this final twist suggests that their troubles aren't over. If the movie had ended two minutes earlier, it would have been a hopeful, even joyous conclusion. Instead, the final scene drives home the persistent nature of fear and grief. Can we ever really heal from trauma? Not when the Boogeyman is hiding in the closet, that's for sure.