In this horror-thriller from the mind of Stephen King, two sisters — along with their therapist father — are reeling from their mother’s death. When a desperate patient comes to their home, he leaves behind a terrifying entity that feeds on its victims’ suffering.
For in-depth thoughts on The Boogeyman (2023), please see my colleague Lane Mill’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of 20th Century Studios with a great 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that presents the film without issue. The movie itself has a cooler color palette with many scenes bathed in darkness which this transfer handles adeptly. There is also a notable amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation. The fine detail that is present on faces and within some of the makeup work is quite remarkable. Roaming shots remain stable and avoid most instances of blurring or banding. For a movie that relies on darkness to build tension, it is important to have deep black levels, which this transfer executes favorably. Objects hold up very well in the shadows and retain their depth. There is no damage, black crush or digital noise on display in this transfer. This is an impressive transfer from 20th Century Studios that allows this new feature to thrive at a high bit rate and deliver a clean viewing experience.
Audio Quality
The Boogeyman comes to Blu-Ray with a fantastic DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie is impressively active throughout with spurts of activity when the terror is unleashed, especially near the end. Surround channels get some pointed activity during various scenes where sounds are coming from unknown origins. This is a film that is immensely satisfying from a sound design perspective. The directionality of this track is perfect with sounds coming from all of the appropriate spots. The low end of the track gets to show off in numerous spots with some room shaking. Dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the tonally appropriate score where nothing gets lost in the mix. This track is quite robust and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc. There are optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Into The Darkness: A 16-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss what the Boogeyman represents in culture, their approach to unlocking the terror of this film, the artistry they wanted to bring to the Stephen King source material, the themes and characters, the direction, and more.
- Outtakes: A two-minute collection of amusing moments on set.
Final Thoughts
The Boogeyman is a somewhat effective horror film that delivers a lot of thrilling moments but slightly stumbles when it comes to realizing its full potential. The core concept and themes are rich for exploration, but the script falls into some familiar tropes in-between moments of notable creativity. The source material for this story is very brief, and this expansion into a full feature feels quite padded out even with a reasonably contained runtime. This may create a few nightmares, but it does not feel destined to scar you for life. 20th Century Studios has given this film a Blu-Ray with an impressive A/V presentation and a brief selection of special features. If you are a fan of Stephen King adaptations, you should be happy enough with this release. Recommended
The Boogeyman will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 10, 2023. The film is currently available to purchase on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: 20th Century Studios has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
