Parents' Guide to

Boogeyman

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

A bloated 86 minutes of overzealous spookiness.

Movie PG-13 2005 86 minutes
Boogeyman Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Nassir L.
Nassir L. Adult
June 8, 2018
age 13+

Here comes the Boogeyman.

An interesting story about a monster in a closet. I guess those who experienced this fear when they were younger will finally have a change to overpass it. I think it’ll be okay with young teens, there are a few jump scares but nothing to spooky, I think it is a good scary movie for young ones.
Michael Sladek
Michael Sladek Adult
November 8, 2014
age 14+

Suspensefully Creepy

This movie will definitely be giving kids nightmares!! This movie has a lot of violence and gore, lesbian kissing, and mild language.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Eight-year-old Tim Jenson is scarred for his life before BOOGEYMAN'S title sequence rolls. He went to bed one night jumping at shadows in his rural, gothic home and watched in horror as his closet violently swallowed his father. Fast-forward 15 years and Tim (Barry Watson), now a twitchy lygophobic with a tendency to stand staring at dark closets, returns home for a funeral. He alone sees that all dark places -- under the bed, in the closet, behind the pantry door -- are potential lurking spots for the boogeyman. At the off-hand recommendation of his psychologist and to further the plot, he must face his childhood fears, including that of his supernatural closet.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (11 ):

The storyline is thinner than the protagonist's stereotyped rich girlfriend, and there's enough lead-heavy dialogue to sink a movie of twice the caliber. BOOGEYMAN is a bloated 86 minutes of overzealous spookiness, to be admired primarily by aspiring sound-effects specialists. The movie cuts to the chase quickly but then wallows in atmospherics. Lengthy scenes reveal nothing more than predictable, two-dimensional characters. Ominous portent is constant. The creaking house, unnerving close-ups, quick cuts, and flickering lights might make some viewers seasick and others wish they could TiVo to the final confrontation.

Touches of humor, some genuinely spooky moments, and the occasional flash of decent acting keep this movie a notch above straight-to-video caliber. Watching Tim at the child counseling center offers a hint that this movie could be richer, more interesting fare, but then the next scene -- a possible boogeyman lurking behind a ceiling tile -- tugs us back to the over-the-top forcedness of it all.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the legend of the boogeyman, who appears in many cultures as a warning to misbehaving children. The psychologist discusses how children might turn to supernatural explanations as a coping mechanism for feelings of loss or powerlessness. How do modern stories use scary characters or the supernatural to guide behavior now? Urban legends often have an element of the supernatural, how might they derive from older tales, like those of the boogeyman?

Movie Details

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