The adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Boogeyman” is out in theaters this weekend

The Boogeyman was a short story written by Stephen King and first published in the March 1973 issue of the magazine Cavalier and later included in King‘s 1978 collection, Night Shift.

The original story takes place in the office of Dr. Harper, a psychiatrist, where a man named Lester Billings talks to the doctor about the “murders” of his three young children, describing the events of the past several years. His first two children died mysteriously of apparently unrelated causes (diagnosed as crib death and convulsions, respectively) when left alone in their bedrooms. The only commonalities were that the children cried “Boogeyman!” before being left alone, and the closet door being ajar after discovering their corpses, even though Lester is certain the door was shut.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods the writers of A Quiet Place (2018), Haunt (2019), and 65 (2023), together with Mark Heyman, one of the writers of Black Swan (2010), have been the writers of the screenplay for The Boogeyman (2023). Rob Savage, the director of the awards-winner British Independent Film Awards drama Strings (2012) and the horrors Host (2020) and Dashcam (2021), is having his debut in a big Hollywood production.

In The Boogeyman (2023), high school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer are reeling from the recent death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.

Sophie Thatcher, known for the TV series Yellowjackets (2021–) and The Book of Boba Fett (2021–), Chris Messina, starring in Devil (2010) and Argo (2012), and David Dastmalchian, one of the most exciting faces in the last years having appeared in The Dark Knight (2008), Dune (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021), and the upcoming Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) and André Øvredal’s Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), lead the main cast that also includes Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, LisaGay Hamilton, Madison Hu, and Maddie Nichols.

Shawn Levy is producing by his banner 21 Laps Entertainment, responsible for hits like The Watch (2012), Arrival (2016), or The Adam Project (2022).

The Boogeyman (2023) is Rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, teen drug use, and some strong language. The movie was originally planned to be released on Hulu in 2023, however, following a positive test screening in December, it was announced that it would be switched to release theatrically on June 2, 2023, by 20th Century Studios. Watch its trailer here.