How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life (2024)

Features

Exclusive: Host and Dashcam director Rob Savage lifts the curtain on his "scary-as-f***" adaptation of Stephen King's "The Boogeyman."

How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life (1)By Rosie Fletcher | |

  • Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on email (opens in a new tab)

| Comments count:0

How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life (2)

This article appears in the new issue ofDEN OF GEEKmagazine. Get your copyhere.

British director Rob Savage captured lockdown perfectly in 2020 with his Zoom-based horror, Host. And now that we’re allowed out of the house again, he’s back to scare your pants off with The Boogeyman, an adaptation of the Stephen King short story first published in 1973.

“I remember reading the short story when I was a kid, and it scared the f*ck out of me,” Savage tells Den of Geek magazine. “And so when I got an email in my inbox that they were looking for somebody to work on an adaptation of it, that immediately made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because I thought there was something potentially brilliant there.”

The story sees a distressed man named Lester Billings arrive at the office of a psychiatrist with a tale of the deaths of his three children, which he believes is at the hands of the terrifying “Boogeyman” stalking his family. Savage’s movie, based on an initial script by A Quiet Place writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, and honed by Black Swan writer Mark Heyman, expands the story beyond King’s tale.

Ad

The film focuses on the Harper girls who are grieving the loss of their mother, and their therapist father who isn’t dealing with it very well. He receives a visit from Billings with his terrifying tale and starts to suspect The Boogeyman has taken up residence in his own house.

But what is The Boogeyman?

“The Boogeyman is just the name that a child in the dark gives it,” Savage explains. “I had this idea that this creature is almost elemental. It was the first thing lurking in the darkness when the cavemen were huddling around their fire. It had to feel kind of weathered and eternal, and there had to be something kind of recognizably human about it in a very f*cked up, perverted, malformed kind of way.”

Savage is clear that this is a creature feature (and we will get to see the creature) but that it’s also a haunted house movie. He says his points of reference were classic gothic horror moviesThe Innocents and The Haunting, though his pitch “was Poltergeist meets Ordinary People.”

“It’s going to be a fun, scary-as-f*ck horror movie where the drama scenes feel properly meaty, nuanced, and true to the experience of grieving,” says Savage. “It’s a movie that’s hopefully not afraid to dive into the darker aspects of the characters. It’s a fun 90-minute horror movie at its core, but it doesn’t skimp on the drama.”

Meanwhile, his approach to the creature reveal had different inspirations.

Ad

Ad – content continues below

“You don’t actually see the creature as much as perhaps you think. We took the same approach as Jaws or Alien. Every single cut of the movie, I was timing the amount of screen time the creature got and comparing it to those movies because I felt like that was about the perfect amount of screen time.”

The creature is a CG creation, but Savage explains he 3D printed a Boogeyman head which he would slather with K-Y Jelly, light, and shoot to give the VFX a reference point. It’s currently sitting on his coffee table.

The Mindy Project mainstay Chris Messina plays Doctor Harper, with The Suicide Squad’sDavid Dastmalchian as Billings, but Savage says it’s the daughters who have to do the seriously heavy lifting.

“Sophie Thatcher is in almost every single shot of this movie. I don’t think either of us realized how much she had to do day by day, how much she had to carry this film, and what an insane level she has to be at constantly,” he says. “We’re talking Florence Pugh in Midsommar [levels]. She was the most committed actor I’ve ever worked with.”

Savage also describes Vivien Lyra Blair, who was just 9 at the time of filming, as “one of the smartest, wisest, most talented people I’ve ever worked with.”

So could there be potential for a sequel? Savage isn’t ruling it out.

Ad

Ad – content continues below

“You can’t leave the cinema feeling as though the evil has been vanquished because then you’re missing the point that the Boogeyman is representative of everything that your mind conjures when you stare into the dark corner of your room when you wake up at 3 a.m.,” he explains. “The Boogeyman has always existed and always will.” Brrr…

Ad

The Boogeyman will be released on June 2.

  • Share:
  • Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on email (opens in a new tab)

|

Comment:

Comments count:0

Tags: HorrorHorror MoviesMagazineStephen King

How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life (3)

Written by

Rosie Fletcher

Rosie Fletcher is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den Of Geek. She’s been an entertainment journalist for more than 15 years previously working at DVD & Blu-ray Review, Digital…

Read more from Rosie Fletcher

How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life (2024)

FAQs

How The Boogeyman Brought a Classic Stephen King Monster to Life? ›

The creature is a CG creation, but Savage explains he 3D printed a Boogeyman head which he would slather with K-Y Jelly, light, and shoot to give the VFX a reference point.

What is the main idea of The Boogeyman by Stephen King? ›

"The Boogeyman" is a horror short story by Stephen King, first published in 1973. The story follows a man named Lester Billings, who visits a psychiatrist to talk about the deaths of his three children. Lester believes that the deaths were caused by a supernatural entity known as the Boogeyman.

What creature is Stephen King's boogeyman? ›

On the first occasion in which Lester Billings, the protagonist of the story, manages to catch a glimpse of him, he is described as a creature with a head similar to that of a scarecrow, with sloping shoulders and hands armed with sharp claws.

What Stephen King book is Boogeyman based on? ›

"The Boogeyman" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1973 issue of the magazine Cavalier and later included in King's 1978 collection, Night Shift.

What is the story of Boogeyman? ›

The large majority of bogeymen just function to frighten children with potential punishments and not actually to inflict much damage. The more vicious bogeyman is said to steal the children at night, eat them, as well as commit other acts of violence.

What does The Boogeyman symbolize? ›

Tales of the bogeyman and various analogues have been used for centuries all across the world to influence children to behave as their parents command and to exercise caution in dangerous situations or areas. The term is also sometimes used more generally to describe any fearsome or dreaded thing.

What is the monster in boogeyman movie? ›

The Boogeyman is the titular main antagonist of the 2023 horror film The Boogeyman, based off the Stephen King short story of the same name. It is a monster of unknown origin that targets and murders entire families, usually ones that have experienced a loss of a family member.

What is the theory of The Boogeyman? ›

Oftentimes, the Boogeyman is a story told by adults to children to discourage them from misbehaving. In order to achieve this, the Boogeyman is usually described as being horrific in appearance and having grotesque tendencies such as kidnapping, attacking or killing those it views as being punishable.

Is The Boogeyman monster real? ›

The boogeyman is not real, but most cultures have some version of the boogeyman myth, although they go by many, many different names. The actual "boogeyman" name most likely originated sometime in the 19th century, but the mythology of these kinds of "monsters" have been around for much longer than that.

What is The Boogeyman's weakness? ›

Fire is the Boogeyman's weakness, as it stays in the shadows and fears light. Humans can wield fire to combat the creature. The Boogeyman preys on emotionally vulnerable victims, primarily targeting children.

How does Stephen King's Boogeyman end? ›

A battle with the Boogeyman ensues, in which it tries to suck the life out of Sadie, but the family fight back and 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 escape their house, which is now engulfed by flames.

What is the myth of the Boogeyman? ›

The Boogeyman is a shadowy, amorphous ghost who hides in dark places in order to frighten unsuspecting victims. He's more of a nuisance than a danger, and his power is easily neutralized by bright light. His name probably originates from Middle English bugge, meaning “something frightening.”

Who killed Boogeyman? ›

Actually, in the movie it is mentioned that there was another mafia who was called Baba Yaga/The Boogeyman. John Wick was hired to kill him which he obviously did after which he was know as the Boogeyman.

What is the theme of The Boogeyman? ›

The theme of fear is central to the short story “The Boogeyman” by Stephen King. The narrative is focused on the fear of Lester and his children. It also aims to scare the reader. The boogeyman is a monster used to scare children into being well-behaved.

Is The Boogeyman good or bad? ›

The Boogeyman might fall short of its terrifying source material, but a spooky atmosphere and some solid performances help keep the chills coming. If you don't mind spending a lot of time waiting for things to happen, The Boogeyman is worth watching for some solid jump scares.

What is the main idea of on writing by Stephen King? ›

King believes that when a writer is true to their own voice and interests, their work will resonate more deeply with readers. He also discusses the role of fear in writing, and how writers should not be afraid to tackle difficult or controversial subjects.

What is the main idea of a story including the big idea and what the author says about it? ›

The main idea of a story is the central idea or concept that the author wants to portray through the narrative, characters, and settings. The main idea can either be explicit, which means it's directly stated in the story, or it can be implied, which means it's not directly stated in the story.

What is the point of view of The Boogeyman? ›

The story “The Boogeyman” by Stephen King is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator. The point of view switches to the first-person when Lester Billings recounts the past events in his dialogue with Dr Harper, which makes up the majority of the story.

What is the meaning of here comes The Boogeyman? ›

It was recorded in 1932 by British band leader Henry Hall and his Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. The song refers to the Bogeyman, a legendary ghost-like monster which has no specific appearance, intended only as an amorphous embodiment of terror, usually among children.

Top Articles
R vs Python for Data Analysis — An Objective Comparison
R vs. Python: Key Differences | The Datalore Blog
Artem The Gambler
Unblocked Games Premium Worlds Hardest Game
Grange Display Calculator
Shaniki Hernandez Cam
Geometry Escape Challenge A Answer Key
The Rise of Breckie Hill: How She Became a Social Media Star | Entertainment
Hmr Properties
Jack Daniels Pop Tarts
What Happened To Maxwell Laughlin
Accuradio Unblocked
Darksteel Plate Deepwoken
Morgan And Nay Funeral Home Obituaries
Ou Class Nav
Conan Exiles: Nahrung und Trinken finden und herstellen
Robeson County Mugshots 2022
Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 3 - New Living Translation
Morse Road Bmv Hours
Form F-1 - Registration statement for certain foreign private issuers
Prot Pally Wrath Pre Patch
Hannaford Weekly Flyer Manchester Nh
Panolian Batesville Ms Obituaries 2022
Ardie From Something Was Wrong Podcast
Combies Overlijden no. 02, Stempels: 2 teksten + 1 tag/label & Stansen: 3 tags/labels.
Riverstock Apartments Photos
Tom Thumb Direct2Hr
Uncovering the Enigmatic Trish Stratus: From Net Worth to Personal Life
1964 Impala For Sale Craigslist
Tokioof
'Conan Exiles' 3.0 Guide: How To Unlock Spells And Sorcery
Mobile Maher Terminal
Composite Function Calculator + Online Solver With Free Steps
Poster & 1600 Autocollants créatifs | Activité facile et ludique | Poppik Stickers
Pill 44615 Orange
Black Adam Showtimes Near Amc Deptford 8
Indiefoxx Deepfake
Avance Primary Care Morrisville
Myfxbook Historical Data
Let's co-sleep on it: How I became the mom I swore I'd never be
Letter of Credit: What It Is, Examples, and How One Is Used
Charli D'amelio Bj
The Many Faces of the Craigslist Killer
Hello – Cornerstone Chapel
Kenwood M-918DAB-H Heim-Audio-Mikrosystem DAB, DAB+, FM 10 W Bluetooth von expert Technomarkt
New Zero Turn Mowers For Sale Near Me
Star Sessions Snapcamz
Blippi Park Carlsbad
Ty Glass Sentenced
Phunextra
Wrentham Outlets Hours Sunday
Lux Nails & Spa
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Tuan Roob DDS

Last Updated:

Views: 6309

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (62 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tuan Roob DDS

Birthday: 1999-11-20

Address: Suite 592 642 Pfannerstill Island, South Keila, LA 74970-3076

Phone: +9617721773649

Job: Marketing Producer

Hobby: Skydiving, Flag Football, Knitting, Running, Lego building, Hunting, Juggling

Introduction: My name is Tuan Roob DDS, I am a friendly, good, energetic, faithful, fantastic, gentle, enchanting person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.