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Parents' Guide to

The Boogeyman

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Monster movie has decent scares, sympathetic characters.

Movie PG-13 2023 98 minutes
The Boogeyman Movie Poster: Looking down some old, wooden stairs into a dark basement, with two small glowing dots staring back

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 2 parent reviews

Michael S.
Michael S. Parent of 9 and 10-year-old
September 4, 2023
age 11+

My ten year old LOVED it

The movie isnt good for kids who get scared really easy, but is really interesting. My 10 year old really enjoyed it so I would say its fine. Has no explicit scenes, its a really good movie
Lego mama K.
Lego mama K. Parent of 12-year-old
June 27, 2023
age 14+

Very scary! Not for those who scare easily

“The Boogeyman” was a very good movie. It was well-made and contained a ton of suspense. My son (12) and I were on the edge of our seats. I would compare it to the last season of Stranger Things. I found it stressful to watch because they kept leaving the little girl alone. The movie was somewhat predictable but still terrifying. The kids were brave and how they dealt with the monster was realistic. I would not bring any teen or preteen to this movie unless they can handle true horror. It was very scary. My son loves (mostly pg 13 horror) but he kept saying “oh my god” and was visibly shocked by some of it, as was I. I do like Stephen King and felt the actors and directors did a great job. I was glad the movie showed the family processing grief and I believe the monster was a metaphor for grief. Don’t allow a child who is prone to nightmares or gets easily spooked see this. It will scare ya!
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE BOOGEYMAN, Will Harper (Chris Messina) finds himself caring for his two daughters -- teen Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and younger Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) -- after their mom dies in a car accident. Will, a therapist, continues his work but somehow can't deal with his own grief. Sadie encounters cruelty at school, and Sawyer develops an intense fear of the dark. Then Will has an unexpected visit from a strange man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), who tells a harrowing story: His three children all died, and while Lester appears to be guilty, the real killer was a terrifying monster, captured in a drawing by one of the children. While Will is off discreetly calling the police, Lester hangs himself. Soon after, a monstrous presence -- which only lurks in the dark -- begins making itself known to the Harpers.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (7 ):

Unlike director Rob Savage's innovative earlier movies, this chiller hits a few too many familiar beats, but its attention to character and emotion -- and a few good scares -- make it worth watching. Based on a 1973 Stephen King short story that was published in his classic Night Shift collection (which also yielded many other movies, including Children of the Corn), The Boogeyman was adapted by A-list screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), working with Mark Heyman (Black Swan). They've fleshed out a scant story that had just two characters in one location, but they've also leaned on the typical three-act structure of many other ghost/monster movies. (By comparison, a similar monster tale was executed with far more ingenuity in Lights Out.)

But director Savage -- whose excellent Pandemic-era Host made clever use of the panels in a Zoom chat -- still finds ways to make it work. He dives in on the characters' grief, which smoothes over certain logic holes and explains certain behaviors. And he goes all out with some nifty, spooky touches, such as Sawyer kicking her light-up ball down dark hallways to check for monsters. (Blair, in particular, is excellent, bringing some of the same pluck she demonstrated as young Leia Organa in Obi-Wan Kenobi.) All in all, The Boogeyman should please most horror hounds.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Boogeyman's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?

  • How is drug use depicted? Is it glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

  • How does the movie depict grief? How are the three characters' grieving processes different? How are they similar?

  • Have you ever been afraid of the dark, like Sawyer? Why is the dark scary for many people?

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