It’s a Stephen King story. Do you know where your children are?

The Harper family is falling apart. Widower Will (Chris Messina) retreats into his work as a therapist, pushing his teen-aged daughter Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) to look after her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). Will has no idea what to say to Sadie, Sadie pines for her dead mother forsaking everything else, and imaginative Sawyer has grown fearful of the dark. When a childless dad named Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) arrives at Will’s home office unannounced, he brings something with him into the Harper’s lives — something that feasts on grief and despair — and it’s always hungry.

There have been plenty of boogeyman movies (and sequels) freaking out audiences with the original Grabber. It’s the imaginary beastie that nibbles exposed feet, lurks beneath beds and in the back of closets, and is inexplicably repelled by pulling a blanket over one’s head. This version, however, is based directly upon the Stephen King short story from the anthology Night Shift, as if a name like “Lester Billings” wasn’t a dead giveaway. Leveraging childhood fears seeping into adulthood and touching on phenomena such as infant crib death, King doesn’t pull any punches on his selection of victims. Directed by Rob Savage and intended for a streaming release, positive studio word of mouth earned it a theatrical run, but what chance does it have in a summer blockbuster season already in full swing?

With all the brightly colored car chases, superheroes, and video game characters currently occupying multiplexes, The Boogeyman is an atmospheric spook-fest that succeeds in getting under the skin, tapping into primal fears while wallowing in genre tropes. In fact, the film’s biggest weakness is also it’s surprising strength, treading into familiar territory before throwing the unexpected at viewers, especially when it comes to the title monster itself. While other adaptations remove darker plot points like who dies and how — like when Children of the Corn allowed the adults to inexplicably survive in the film version — the title character goes for the toddler right from the opening scene. Viewers who remember peering into the dark from their childhood beds, imagining reflections of light as eyes looking back at them, are going to get more than their money’s worth.

It doesn’t seem entirely fair that a creature comes for you when you’re most vulnerable, validating horrific advice like “suck it up and fight back” in a time of grief, but there’s also a component of not suffering alone. The opportunity self-isolation provides is what the critter craves, so friends and family gathered around a fire may be protection enough — a much better message. This boogeyman has near-Pennywise-like qualities, a lesser version of the clown-possessor while also being less geographically restricted, and perhaps there’s more than one in the world. Somewhere in the darkness, Obi-wan can almost be heard saying “Your eyes can deceive you; don’t trust them.” The film creates some fun tricks with light to ramp up the tension, including a video game proving to be both a boon and a hindrance.

The cast is adequate for the story, the effects serve it well, and the edit is tight; it’s too bad much of it feels like back roads horror fans have already wandered down before. Does it deserve a theatrical release, even as alternate programming to summer blockbusters scowling down upon it? Much less than last year’s Hellraiser or Prey, unfortunately, but we work with what we have.

The Boogeyman is rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, teen drug use, some strong language, and yet another dead mom.

Three skull recommendation out of four

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