Before The Boys, Eric Kripke Co-Wrote A Supernatural Horror Movie That Spawned A Franchise

Eric Kripke is known for adapting "The Boys" for television. However, before he reimagined the crude and lewd comic book series for the medium, he co-wrote a supernatural horror film focusing on a notable childhood fear. Don't blame Kripke for the boogie, but you can point the finger squarely at him for 2005's "Boogeyman" (not to be confused with 2023's "The Boogeyman," which is based on a Stephen King story).

Kripke co-wrote the script with Stiles White and Juliet Snowden. Directed by Stephen Kay, the movie follows Tim Jensen (played by Barry Watson, who was part of the cast of "7th Heaven"). When he was a child, Tim experienced a traumatic encounter with the monster known as the Boogeyman (Andrew Glover), who also took Tim's dad away from him. The event shook Tim, who proceeded to develop every known contingency plan to prevent the Boogeyman from coming for him as an adult. However, the past comes knocking, and Tim needs to return home to face his fears — including the creature that resides in the shadows. Interestingly, "Boogeyman" also stars Emily Deschanel, with 2005 being the same year "Bones" first aired.

Despite the less than complimentary reviews from critics and viewers, "Boogeyman" turned a tidy profit at the box office, making $67.2 million worldwide from a $20 million budget. The film also received two sequels in 2007 and 2008, following new protagonists but still centering on the real star of the show: The duke of darkness himself, the Boogeyman.

Before penning "Boogeyman," Eric Kripke was the co-showrunner on 2003's "Tarzan" series, starring Travis Fimmel. As Kripke revealed to Midwest Movie Maker, it wasn't the best experience for him. To wash the taste of failure out of his mind, the creative bashed out the script for what would become a draft of "Boogeyman."

"It was big fun, mostly because I never thought I would write a horror film," Kripke said. "And even this was written mainly just for me. I even named every character who dies in the thing after a studio executive."

The script found its way into the hands of the right people, and "Boogeyman" crept its way out of the shadows and into existence. The pivot into the horror genre was also the right career move for Kripke, since he proceeded to pitch "Supernatural," which turned into a colossal success story. "The Boys" came afterward, but it isn't too difficult to see how the influences of everything Kripke did before helped to shape the direction of the insane superhero show. In fact, "The Boys" helped Eric Kripke achieve a hilarious and bloody "Supernatural" bucket list item, while maybe Homelander was the real-life Boogeyman everybody fears.