The Boogeyman Moments That Made Our Skin Crawl
Having previously scared us silly with "Host" in 2020, director Rob Savage's latest film, "The Boogeyman," delivers a chilling and terrifying take on a classic Stephen King horror story. Based on King's 1973 short story of the same name, the film follows a family who — in the process of grieving over the death of their beloved matriarch — also have to deal with being haunted by an unrelenting force. Sisters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) begin to see a monstrous entity lurking in the dark corners of their house and torturing them from afar. Now, Sadie must uncover the truth behind this dark presence before she and her sister fall into the monster's tightening grip.
"The Boogeyman" joins the ranks of great modern King adaptations, terrifying audiences at every turn. Savage's direction is sheer perfection with a palpable suspense throughout and great patience for flawlessly executed scares. Like many other great horror films, the reveal of the film's titular monster is carefully orchestrated, resulting in plenty of disturbing visuals and moments that'll leave viewers shaken. "The Boogeyman" is one of the year's scariest horror films, so let's delve into its most unsettling scenes and skin-crawling moments.
An unsettling opening
From the start, "The Boogeyman" makes it clear that no one is safe from the monster — not even a helpless toddler in their crib. The terrifying visual of a toddler waking in their crib to the sounds of voices coming from the closet is enough to make viewers feel like they've entered a nightmare. With the nearly invisible entity swiftly moving through the darkness of the room, this young girl is entirely helpless and her cries make this scene so much more heartbreaking and chilling.
Eventually, the monster confronts the girl and mercilessly strikes her in her crib. Thankfully, the kill is done off-camera but the sudden splatter of blood and silencing of the girl's cries are enough to chill you to the bone. It's no wonder that Lester (David Dastmalchian) — the father of the murdered child — is left so scarred and why his wife Rita (Marin Ireland) is so determined to kill the monster. The opening scene of "The Boogeyman" sets an unsettling tone that persists throughout the film as the Harper family becomes the beast's next target.
Lester's last act
From the moment that Lester walks into therapist Dr. Will Harper's (Chris Messina) home office, a foreboding, unexplainable presence is immediately felt. The pain and horror of losing his children to a monster no one else believes exists fuels Lester's uncomfortable demeanor and there's a noticeable panic that sets in when Will goes to report him. It's clear that there's something off about Lester, and our fears are soon realized.
Rob Savage milks all the suspense he can out of this scene and effectively builds the tension to a chilling crescendo. We see Lester watching Sadie from afar, and there's a great fakeout moment when Sadie mistakes paint for blood on the floor. However, the most disturbing moment comes after Sadie has been lured to a closet by strange noises. Although she doesn't see it initially, it is shown that Lester has taken his own life, and when Sadie does eventually discover him, her screams of horror add to the tragic nature of the moment. Revealing the horror to the audience and then to the character is particularly impactful and makes it even more disturbing. It's a sad way to see someone as traumatized as Lester go and — like Sadie — it's hard not to wonder if Lester's last act was really by his own hand or if the Boogeyman had a part to play.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Don't look under the bed
The familiar lore of the Boogeyman monster is that it tends to hide in the darkest places it can find in a child's bedroom — usually the closet or under the bed. Although Sawyer has her dad check her closet and bed before she goes to sleep, the Boogeyman is still able to find a dark corner to hide in and she experiences her first encounter with the entity. After hearing something slithering out of the closet and moving under the bed, curiosity gets the best of the young girl, and she decides to take a look.
It's obviously too dark to see anything and Rob Savage lets the tension simmer before Sawyer tries to put a light on the other side of her bed. Sawyer rolls her special ball of light — something she sleeps with for comfort — under the bed to eventually reveal the Boogeyman's monstrous face, scaring her enough to fall off the bed. It's a grotesque first look at the Boogeyman's face and a strong early scare to make the audience fearful of even the smallest spots of darkness.
Tooth Pull
One of the big early moments of Sadie and Sawyer bonding as sisters is when Sadie helps Sawyer deal with her loose tooth. It is established early on that Sawyer is wondering when she's going to lose a wiggling tooth she has, and eventually, she turns to her older sister to help her out. As their mother did for Sadie when she was Sawyer's age, Sadie decides to tie a piece of string to Sawyer's loose tooth, attach the other end to a doorknob, and slam the door to remove the tooth. It might seem like a barbaric way to deal with a simple loose tooth, but you can't blame Sadie for going with an "oldie but a goodie," and there's no denying its effectiveness.
However, this sisterly bonding moment is upended when the Boogeyman slams the door suddenly before anyone is ready for it. Sawyer's tooth is ripped out and the entity makes use of it later in the film for another horrifying moment. The timing here is absolutely perfect, and it's the kind of well-executed jump scare that jolts you out of your seat.
Terrifying therapy session
Ever since their mother passed, Sadie and Sawyer visit their therapist (LisaGay Hamilton) to talk about their unresolved feelings and tackle lingering fears. Sawyer struggles to sleep in the dark and the appearance of the Boogeyman has only made her fears grow. The therapist tries to quell Sawyer's fear of the dark by enveloping her in it and showing her that there's nothing to be afraid of. Unfortunately, with the Boogeyman around, this therapy method quickly turns into torture for Sawyer and the audience.
The suspense and visual horror of the scene are perfectly executed with the slowly dimming red light in the middle of the room creating tension and an eerie atmosphere. As the light slowly diminishes with each blink, you can feel the Boogeyman's presence grow in the room and the therapist's creepy perma-smile makes it even more unsettling. Eventually, audiences are treated with a good scare as the Boogeyman emerges from the shadows. Although this session was meant to help Sawyer get past her fears, this disturbing experience only solidifies them deeper.
Two scares, one scene
To get more information on the Boogeyman, Sadie goes into her father's office to find out what Lester was talking about and it leads to two eerie moments. The first is when she discovers the drawing that Lester's kid made of the Boogeyman, and we later learn that the crude sketch is scarily accurate. She also comes across the recording of Lester's session where he sobs about his children being gone and the recording ends with a high-pitch scream. It's a moment that leaves viewers with a heavy heart and concern for Sadie and Sawyer — especially given what else is happening during this scene.
While Sadie searches for answers, Sawyer is doing her own investigation of a voice she believes to be her sister's. When it's shown that Sadie isn't anywhere near Sawyer's room, however, the realization kicks in that it is the Boogeyman luring Sawyer out of her room. This entire sequence is overflowing with uneasy tension as Sawyer walks through the dark hallway and feels the presence of a sinister force. Once again, she tries to out the monster by rolling her ball of light towards it. This time, the orb is smashed — destroying the only thing Sawyer had to protect and comfort herself. This combination of scares is particularly effective in demonstrating the ruthlessness of the monster and the impact it is beginning to have on the sisters.
Visting the Billings
After learning where Lester used to live, Sadie decides to head over to his old house to try and learn something new about the Boogeyman. Even before she enters the house, it's clear that Lester wasn't living in the best of conditions. The house looks like it's been consumed by mold with black veins running all across the walls, and she nearly vomits when she sees and smells what's rotting in the kitchen. What's more peculiar and unsettling are the traps that Sadie finds throughout the house that involve flickering lights and a flashing Polaroid camera that shows the Boogeyman's attachment to Sadie.
The hallway filled with melting candles sets the dark tone of this scene perfectly and we get an unexpected appearance from Lester's wife, Rita. The idea of her living in this decrepit state is disturbing enough, but Rita's demeanor is what makes this scene nerve-shredding. Marin Ireland's performance effectively shows Rita's paranoia and aggression, and the sudden turn of Rita shooting behind Sadie to kill the Boogeyman will make anyone jump in their seat. Understandably, Sadie makes a hasty exit, but this brief foray into the anguish of another family who has been haunted by the Boogeyman is undeniably chilling.
Sadie's nightmare
After leaving the Billings' house, Sadie returns home completely distraught and frustrated. She's so annoyed that she tries to rush to her room and ignore Sawyer's pleas to talk. When she eventually gets up there, she slams the door shut but is ready to head back out to talk to Sawyer. However, audiences are shocked by a sudden turn that no one saw coming and it could be the best jump scare of the entire movie. Just as Sadie walks towards the door, it bursts open and she's taken to the ground by the Boogeyman. In the chaos, it is tough to tell what is happening as the scare catches viewers completely off-guard, lasting only for a few seconds before Sadie wakes up in her bed.
Even though it's a very quick moment, it's a totally surprising scare that's effective because of how it swiftly shifts the film from day to night and showcases a horrifying nightmare. It's also a great moment that demonstrates how the Boogeyman alters Sadie's sense of reality and one that makes viewers have to catch their breath.
Stuck in the closet
Sadie attempts to ease her mind by having her friends come over for a sleepover, but it does not go as planned. As the girls pass a joint around, Sadie starts to have a coughing fit — and it's not just because she hasn't smoked before. As her coughing becomes more serious, you get that creeping sense that something bad is coming. Sadie goes into the bathroom and spits up a piece of string, and as she pulls on it she yanks out Sawyer's tooth that was pulled earlier. It's a disgusting moment that'll turn your stomach and a great way for an earlier scare to come back as a grim surprise.
The horrors don't even end there as a request to see Sadie's mother's art room takes a nasty turn. Once the group heads towards the closet where Lester took his own life, mean girl Natalie (Maddie Nichols) pushes Sadie into the closet and locks the door. With Sadie being trapped in a dark enclosed space, it doesn't take long for the Boogeyman to appear and it's probably the best glimpse of it that we've gotten so far. Its elongated legs and horrifying face instantly instill fear into Sadie and that fear translates flawlessly to viewers. It's a particularly cruel trick from Sadie's so-called friends and makes her hitting Natalie as she emerges even more satisfying.
Sawyer is in its sights
After tormenting Sadie in the closet, the Boogeyman wastes no time in moving onto Sawyer — who is calmly playing video games downstairs. At first, Sawyer — and the audience — feel a sense of relief when the eyes seemingly peering through the darkness end up not being the Boogeyman's. However, we've been lured into a false sense of security, and the Boogeyman eventually enters the scene through another dark corner in the room. Sawyer tries to hide from the beast but ends up being unsuccessful and is grabbed by the Boogeyman.
It's initially unclear what Sawyer's fate will really be — that is until she's violently thrown against the TV and knocked unconscious. While it might seem like Sawyer's encounter with the Boogeyman is fatal, she ends up waking up at the hospital. Still, this sequence really sends a shiver down your spine as it symbolizes that the Boogeyman is closer than ever to Sawyer and Sadie — far too close for comfort.
Fighting back fails
After the Boogeyman attacks Sawyer, Sadie feels that it's time for her to face and defeat this monster once and for all. Even though she still doesn't have any ideas on how to kill the creature, Sadie gets a call from Rita that gives her some hope. However, upon returning to the Billings' house, things are clearly off with Rita. There are more candles spread throughout the hallway and Rita has set up tripwire traps that'll riddle the Boogeyman with shotgun rounds. The only thing missing is the bait — which Sadie doesn't realize is her.
After overpowering Sadie and tying her up, Rita lets Sadie know that she needed her so that she can lure the Boogeyman into her trap. It's a cruel twist that makes things incredibly tense as the Boogeyman approaches. The candles being blown out as the Boogeyman walks through the halls creates some palpable intensity that doesn't break until the monster springs the trap. Once the Boogeyman falls into Rita's trap, the entire scene becomes explosive chaos as shots ring out and the Boogeyman lies still on the ground.
Unfortunately, the Boogeyman is far from dead and quickly gets back up to viciously kill Rita and hunt Sadie as she frantically tries to escape. This failed attempt to kill the Boogeyman is easily one of the scariest scenes of the film as it's got it all — nerve-shredding thrills, incredibly high stakes, and a brutal kill.
The Boogeyman's power
To save their father — who has been taken by the Boogeyman — Sadie and Sawyer are forced to follow it into the basement. After their attempts to stay quiet fall apart, Sadie finds herself trapped under the Boogeyman and it's here where we get the film's most disturbing visual. If viewers had been wondering what the Boogeyman does to the people it captures, they get their answer — and it's so much worse than what you could imagine. Not only does some kind of bloody creature spew out of the Boogeyman's mouth, but it also starts to draw the blood out of its victim's body.
Rob Savage adds some incredibly unnerving and gross body horror with this scene and it gives a horrifying new layer to the film's titular creature. It's even worse when you think about all the kids that have suffered this fate in the past and viewers will be left completely mind-blown by this reveal. Thankfully, Sawyer is able to save Sadie before it's too late, but the scars of the Boogeyman's true power can't be wiped away.
Bye bye Boogeyman
Although the Harper family is able to reunite, they're not in the best situation. Will's leg is severely broken by him being tossed around by the Boogeyman and neither Sadie nor Sawyer have been able to land a fatal blow on the creature. It simply seems unbeatable and the three of them are nearly out of options. However, Sadie is inspired by looking at her mom's lighter and begins to realize that it's been the key to stopping the Boogeyman all along. With the help of Sawyer's spray can, the two of them are able to trap the Boogeyman in a corner — where Sawyer douses the creature in gasoline.
Then, Sadie tosses the lighter onto the monster and finally kills it by burning it to death. Although this might seem like a celebratory moment, it's pretty horrifying to see the creature burned alive, letting out distorted, chilling screams of pain. As the house is engulfed in flames, there are still plenty of obstacles for the family to face before they eventually escape this nightmare. The film's fiery finale is a frightening — yet satisfying — end to the torment, and audiences can breathe a sigh of relief that the Boogeyman has finally been defeated.