The Boogeyman (1982) User Reviews

I do not like it, but I respect the efforts

[Bored_Dragon · 4/10 · 22 July 2018]

The story is decent and quite faithful to King's original, and performance of Michael Earl Reid, playing a man who is trying to explain to his psychiatrist that the Boogeyman exists and that it killed his children, is impressive. But overall, the movie is pale and boring and more or less it's a waste of time. But considering the fact that this is pretty much "one man show", where Jeff Schiro did the screenplay, directing, editing and music, and on top of that this is his movie debut, I can not bury it completely. I do not like it, but I respect the efforts.

4/10

Closet case

[ctomvelu1 · 5/10 · 23 May 2010]

Amateur-grade adaptation of a Stephen King story from his legendary NIGHTSHIFT collection. A screwy father's three children die, one by one, which he attributes to a monster in the closet. Now he is worried he will be next. Most of this short film has the dad telling his story to a kindly psychiatrist. A very static film, consisting mainly of one actor at a time appearing on screen to spout his dialog. Michal Read is the nervous dad, and the best part of this odd little thriller. The surprise ending is a hoot. Bert Linder is the benevolent shrink. The editing is on the choppy side, so be prepared. It is worth watching if for no other reason than to see what lies on the other side of that closet door.

misunderstood

[HorrorEnjoyer · 6/10 · 27 August 2009]

This one is probably misunderstood by many, because of it's genre. It's short but very powerful story and I can't see any way in which it could have been done better. It perfectly reflects the horror and disturbance in the main characters mind. It doesn't really give you too much of a plot, but because of it's genre it's not what it's supposed to do. The main thing here is psychology and this short delivers that part perfectly. And I guarantee that some words said here will haunt you for some time. I'm a fan of Stephen King and can really see his reflection here, it really reflects his style - madness, disturbance and despair - that's the glorious mix of Mr. Stephen King. Watch it if you have some free time to waste.

Awful adaptation

[camachoborracho · 3/10 · 15 April 2004]

Not because it's a college short film, but because:

a) it butchered possibly Stephen King's best short story &

b) as a film alone it doesn't really make any sense

the acting left something to be desired too and I really found the music annoying. The main protagonist (Lester Billings) was interesting but I was unsure if this was a good or bad performance, I want to say good but the direction was bad and the effects were cheesy thus bringing down the actor. Too bad.

Final verdict: Stay away from the film. Read the book.

Decent Telling of the King Story

[Michael_Elliott · 9 October 2012]

The Boogeyman (1982)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Stephen King adaptation has a father (Michael Read) being arrested for killing his child but the story he tells Dr. Harper (Bert Linder) is quite different than what the police think happened. The father claims that his son was murdered by the boogeyman who lived in his closet and he tells the doctor his story. This student film from Jeff Schiro actually managed to get released back in the day and while I think it has a few good moments the end result isn't quite as good as one would hope. I thought the first five minutes were quite effective and I think they really captured the heart of the story, which is meant to say that the boogeyman kid's fear is living in their closet is real and it can kill them. The middle section of the picture is where it drags as we get some rather boring dialogue scenes that I'm sure were meant to work as psychological horror but they never really reach a creepy level. The ending of the film finally picks up some but at 28-minutes there's no question that it feels a tad bit too long. The performances are really hit and miss but I thought both Read and Linder were fine, although I think some better editing could have helped both. The music score isn't all that good and appears to be trying to copy THE SHINING. With that said, fans of King's short story should get a few kicks out of this but a better version is certainly needed.

From the works of Stephen King.

[Captain_Couth · 2/10 · 7 August 2005]

The Boogeyman (1982) was a lame adaptation to the eerie short story that was written by Stephen King. This story can be found in the short story collection called Night Shift. Quite a few of these stories were adapted into film (either shorts or features). The film makers of this one fell a sleep at the wheel. I understand about budget limitations, but this is no excuse. The movie was boring and the actors over acted big time in this one.

The story is about a scruffy and unpleasant man who seeks psychiatric help from a professional (i.e. a psychoanalyst). In his meeting, he describes the deaths of his children to him. He's guilt ridden over how his children died and he wants to relive himself of the burden of his children's deaths. Who killed his children? Is the dude responsible? Will I enjoy this movie? I don't know, you'll have to find out for yourself when you watch the Stephen King short film adaptation of......THE BOOGEYMAN!!!!

Not worth it but you might want to take a gander.

Decent short based on a popular Stephen King story.

[b_kite · 5/10 · 18 June 2019]

Interesting 28 minute short film based on a Stephen King short story from his popular Night Shift collection. While most may find the twist pretty predictable, what makes it really enjoyable is the 80s style synth score and creepy camera work that also manages to hide the films extremely low budget. Michael Read who would go on to have a supporting role in Army of Darkness does a fine job as well. Overall worth the watch though nothing spectacular.

Criminally Underrated

[macedoniall · 7/10 · 9 April 2018]

How this short film has a 4.7 is seriously beyond me. This is a fantastic short! Sure the ending isn't that great, but it stays really close to Stephen King's original short story. I could only find a VHS rip on youtube for this (since I am reading and watching everything Stephen King) and the grainy quality just adds to the eerie tone of the film. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a interest in either Stephen King's work or the other Dollar Baby adaptations.

A father is losing his children one by one...and his sanity.

[Kenny-29 · 7/10 · 2 January 1999]

This mega-cheap, college film has a way of getting under your skin. The main character is so weird that I didn't know if I was watching a good performance or a bad one. Watch this one late at night with the lights off, then check your closets! I found it when I rented Stephen King's Nightshift Collection which showcases this one along with "The Woman in the Room".

The scariest things...

[tabaddon · 26 May 2004]

The scariest things about this ultra-low budget short are the opening titles and jarring score that tries far too hard to mimic Wendy Carlos' 'The Shining' score. It does not succeed.

Even as a student film, it's contrived and poorly executed. Framing is off (and not in an 'artistic' way), direction seems scatterbrained (and not in a 'good horror film' way), and the soundtrack seems out of sync in places (enough to draw attention away from the story). The climactic end scene is anything but, and even confusing.

Steer clear of this slow, tired adaptation - it doesn't represent the story well at all - and read King's original composition. The out-of-print VHS (part of the 'Nightshift Collection') is only worth hunting down if you're a serious collector of Stephen King or amateur/student horror attempts.

A good short film with a well-developed horror atmosphere

[Elvis-Del-Valle · 8/10 · 4 April 2023]

This adaptation was made on a limited budget as it is obviously a college project, but despite it, the setting is well done and manages to maintain a sense of suspense and terror. Stephen King's story is summarized in this short film, but they only took the most essential of the plot, without the need to focus as much on Lester's conversation with Harper as on the original story that spends a lot of time to go deeper into the state. Lester's emotional Here the story is shorter and the environment is responsible for transmitting Lester's fear and the panic he suffers. In a certain way, Stephen King managed to capture his vision of the fear of the Boogeyman as something that can terrify adults. Especially when said character becomes a metaphor for the danger that children can suffer in the hands of dangerous people. This really is one of the best short horror films I've seen despite its limited budget and it manages to be scary enough to reflect King's chilling vision. My rating for this movie is 8/10.