The Boogeyman Director On Bringing A Horror That Lurks In The Dark To The Screen

Now in theaters is the 20th Century Studios horror film, “The Boogeyman”. The idea of a boogeyman has been around for a very long time. For the most part, it’s a creature that we create in our imagination that ends up being nothing more than a lump of clothes that we left stacked on a chair or stuffed in a closet. While it may make us feel silly when we turn on the lights, the terror we create in our minds could momentarily cause us to panic.

The Boogeyman

This version of “The Boogeyman” directed by Rob Savage, is based on the short story by one of the greatest horror storytellers, Stephen King that was first published in Cavalier Magazine in 1973. His version of the creature arguably has become the template for the way this mysterious being has been shown in stories going forward.

‘”The Boogeyman” was one of the most impactful, traumatic reads of my life. It made me scared of closets, not for a couple of days afterward or weeks, but for years,” said producer Dan Levine.

Creating the creature for “The Boogeyman” for the film posed quite a challenge as it’s usually something you create in your head. Also, it’s a character in the film that we need to know is there, but not really see.

LRM Online took part in a press conference for the horror film, where Savage talked about bringing the creature to the big screen.

“I was really aware of is that we didn’t want people to leave the cinema thinking, I’ve seen The Boogeyman. He’s not all that scary,” said Savage. “Obviously these guys have to fight The Boogeyman at the end, so you had to show him. We had to create a creature which felt like it made room for everyone’s personal interpretation of the creature, that kind of spoke to the short story.”

(L-R): Sophie Thatcher as Sadie Harper and Vivien Lyra Blair as Sawyer Harper in 20th Century Studios’ THE BOOGEYMAN. Photo by Patti Perret. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

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The Boogeyman needed to be able to be terrifying in the shadows. Its glowing eyes needed to be menacing along with a menacing shadow. Its presence during most of the film needed to simmer in the audience’s mind. According to Savage, even after the reveal, the creature leaves a lot to interpretation.

“When you finally see the creature, we came up with this kind of weird, messed-up design; whereby the creature kind of reveals itself to have dimensions beyond what we see. There’s still kind of room for people’s own nightmares projected onto our creature. We’ve got this horrific design which our team came up with, which will hopefully create some new nightmares,” said Savage.

Director Rob Savage on the set of 20th Century Studios’ BOOGEYMAN. Photo Patti Perret. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Reserved.

While the filmmakers wanted to make The Boogeyman practically, it became an impossible task. This is due to the fact that it wasn’t until they were late into production that they decided on what the creature would finally look like.

In the end “The Boogeyman” does a good job of allowing audiences to continue to create their own haunts in their minds as something lurks in the dark corners of our rooms, closets, and under our beds.

20th Century Studios’ “The Boogeyman” is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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