The Boogeyman movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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What is the plot of The Boogeyman movie 2023? ›

High school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister, Sawyer, are still reeling from the recent death of their mother. They're not getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who's dealing with his own intense pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their house seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.

The Boogeyman / Film synopsis

The Boogeyman is intent on killing Sadie and Sawyer, and uses Will as bait after killing Rita, Lester Billings' wife. After a few violent attacks, Sadie and Sawyer set fire to the terrifying creature. Seemingly dead, the house also catches fire, but Sadie and her family are able to make it outside to safety.

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.

The last review by Ebert published during his lifetime was for the film The Host, which was published on March 27, 2013. The last review Ebert wrote was for To the Wonder, which he gave 3.5 out of 4 stars in a review for the Chicago Sun-Times. It was posthumously published on April 6, 2013.

Analysis: “The Boogeyman”

Woven around central themes such as The Nature of Fear and Guilt as Self-Punishment, “The Boogeyman” tells the story of a man who must grapple with monsters both within and outside of himself.

“The Boogeyman” carries on that unfortunate tradition. It's a pretty bad movie — not particularly scary, not easy to follow, not a bit of fun. But it's also weird. It is, we learn in the credits, indeed based on the King story of the same name, from his 1978 collection “Night Shift.” Sort of.

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.

The Boogeyman Isn't a True Story - But It Takes Inspiration From Another Horror Movie. Fans are curious if Stephen King's The Boogeyman is based on a true story, and while it isn't, it does draw influence from another terrifying movie. The following contains major spoilers for The Boogeyman, now playing in theaters.

Jessica, his girlfriend, abruptly shows up and she takes Tim out of the house for a night in a quiet hotel, where she is murdered by the Boogeyman, who spies at her through the closet in the bathroom before dragging her into the bath.

Violence & Gore (6)

Occasional moderate sene of threat throughout related to a mysterious creature that stalks a teenage girl and her grief-striken family. Brief sustained attacks involving stabbings and death of children include blood spatter and the use of guns or flame-throwing devices to combat the creature.

Is The Boogeyman 2023 a metaphor? ›

All that said, “The Boogeyman” is still rather effective at what it sets out to do, probably due in large part to the contributions of Beck and Woods, the writing/producing duo behind the 2018 hit “A Quiet Place.” On one level, it can be read as a metaphor for grief, kind of like “The Babadook,” which covered the same ...

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.

On April 4, 2013, one of America's best-known and most influential movie critics, Roger Ebert, who reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, dies at age 70 after battling cancer.

Roger Ebert started writing reviews in 1967. As a professional, he watched over 500 movies and he reviewed about 300 movies each year. Over his 40 year career, he published about 10,000 movie reviews.

The two slowly developed a friendship and even a sort of love for each other over several decades, but the one-upmanship between them always remained. Siskel, a habitual gambler and Playboy Mansion regular would sabotage Ebert's interviews in order to steal his scoops whenever possible.

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.

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. For its literary counterpart, see here.

Because of the myth's global prevalence, it is difficult to find the original source of the legends. The Bogeyman was first referenced for the hobgoblins described in the 16th century England. Many believed that they were made to torment humans, and while some only played simple pranks, others were more foul in nature.