When Disney announced that, through their Twentieth Century Studios Division, they were releasing a horror movie, I was skeptical. While they can create somewhat riskier films through their subsidiary studio, there is still a chance audiences will become upset regarding the content and cause trouble for the company. It made slightly more sense when the movie, entitled The Boogeyman, was getting a PG-13 rating. Still, would Disney/Twenty Century be able to pull off a horror movie that would scare fans of the genre while still appeasing the conservative parents of tweens and teens everywhere? The answer is...sort of.
Sadie (Sophie Thatcher; The Book of Boba Fett), her younger sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair; Obi-Wan Kenobi), and their father Will (Chris Messina; Argo) are all still grieving the loss of their mother and wife but are trying to get back to normal. As the girls return to school, Will, who is a therapist, begins seeing patients again from his home office. When a distraught man, Lester (David Dastmalachian; The Suicide Squad), comes seeking Will's help, he allows the man inside but once in the house, Lester wanders in the family's personal space and is found dead in a closet by Sadie. Suddenly, Sawyer starts seeing a monster in the house, and unexplained things begin to happen.
With a minimal cast, the focus of the film centers on Thatcher, Blair, and Messina. Luckily they have the chemistry and the acting chops to pull off a cohesive family unit that has a small crack in its foundation. Messina does a good job portraying a father figure but it is Thatcher and Blair who are the ones to watch. The girls have terrific chemistry making their sisterly bond seem realistic yet they both seem to play characters that want to be independent.
Director Rob Savage (Host) does an adequate job of balancing the emotional plot points with the special effects and the scares. I'm certain had this film been allowed to be given an R rating, there would have been more elaborate scenes with additional (bloody) details. It wouldn't even surprise me if those scenes existed somewhere but ended up on the cutting room floor. Regardless, Savage moves the film along without interruption.
While The Boogeyman doesn't have a 4K version (yet), the 1080p video quality is well done. The color palette is a little too dark at times but I wonder if that wasn't intentional so the scarier moments are more implied rather than seen, again to warrant that PG rating. The details are clean and sharp though but one wouldn't necessarily expect less from a newer release.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 takes on an important role with this release since much of the scarier moments are heard rather than seen. The multilayered track is detailed and utilizes the entire spectrum of speakers. The lower tones seem to be enhanced while the higher-end screams hold back a little.
The combo pack only offers two extras including Into the Darkness Featurette and Outtakes (*side note: on my digital copy the extras were labeled incorrectly...Outtakes was actually the Into the Darkness footage and vice versa). While they are informative, you can watch them once and be done with them. There is also a digital download and DVD included in the set.
If one is a horror fan and wants to indoctrinate their younger offspring (think tweens) into that world, The Boogeyman is a good first step as it was filmed with a somewhat younger audience in mind. However, if Twentieth Century Studios (and its parent company) decide to continue to make horror films, they may want to rethink that PG-13 rating goal.
The Boogeyman shoots for younger moviegoers but I don't think it hits the bullseye.
Grade: C+
