One of the summer's biggest horror movies is on the horizon in the form of "The Boogeyman," which is adapted from the Stephen King story of the same name. It hails from director Rob Savage, who made waves a few years ago with his made-for-nothing found footage horror flick "Host" during the pandemic. Now, Savage is back taking on source material from a master of the genre, and it sounds like he did a damn good job of translating the material (read our review here). The reveal of the monster at the center of this story actually scared the s*** out of audiences in early screenings to such a strong degree that they actually had to re-edit the movie to accommodate the reaction.
The filmmaker recently spoke with Empire in anticipation of the film's theatrical release this weekend. Savage explained that the reveal of the titular Boogeyman worked like gangbusters in test screenings. The only problem? The crowd reactions were so over-the-top that vital information was running the risk of being missed. Here's what Savage had to say about it:
"The first time you see the creature, the audience screamed so loud, and then immediately started talking with their neighbours and chattering, that they completely missed the next lines. So we had to re-cut it and build in 45 seconds of padding, just so they didn't miss any vital information. I'm a huge jump-scare guy. That's the most gratifying part, when you see that play with an audience and you can feel them taking the bait, and then you feel the jump land."
The Mark Of An Effective Jump Scare
When making a horror movie, getting effective jump scares like that is an absolute must. It's part of the communal experience, and that helps put a lot of butts in seats. Remember, "The Boogeyman" was originally produced with a streaming release on Hulu in mind. However, outstanding test screenings convinced Disney to shift its strategy and give this one a wide release in theaters, right in the heart of the summer movie season. And it was actually Stephen King himself who helped ensure that the film wouldn't be relegated to streaming.
Given that it seems Savage produced a crowd-pleaser here, that shift seems like a wise move. Horror has been the hottest thing at the box office over the last couple of years, with movies like "Smile," "M3GAN," and "The Black Phone" serving as recent success stories. Disney undoubtedly stands to make a bigger splash (and more money) by letting this monster scare audiences in crowded theaters. Maximum impact, maximum profit.
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods ("A Quiet Place") penned the screenplay for the adaptation alongside Mark Heyman ("Black Swan"). The cast includes Sophie Thatcher ("Yellowjackets"), Chris Messina ("Birds of Prey"), Vivien Lyra Blair ("Obi-Wan Kenobi"), Marin Ireland ("The Umbrella Academy"), Madison Hu ("Bizaardvark"), LisaGay Hamilton ("Vice"), and David Dastmalchian ("Dune").
"The Boogeyman" hits theaters on June 2, 2023.
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