The Stephen King Movie That Failed Critics is Now on Hulu: “A completely missed opportunity”
Stephen King adaptations are often hit or miss. The author’s work can be challenging to rework for the screen for a few different reasons. For one, his output frequently relies on internal monologues to develop the characters. Moreover, a lot of his work is rather lengthy, meaning that elements of the story that readers connected with may not make it to the screen.
When one of his adaptations lands, however, it makes up for some of the missed opportunities. As it turns out, a title that many consider a missed opportunity is now streaming on Hulu.
We’re talking about The Boogeyman, a film that follows high school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her younger sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), as they reel from the recent death of their mother. They’re not getting much support from their father, Will (Chris Messina), a therapist who’s dealing with his own intense pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their house seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.
While some critics saw merit in this King adaptation, quite a few others came away disenchanted. Our Josh Korngut was among the naysayers. He awarded the film 2/5 stars in his critique and took issue with what he perceives as lazy screenwriting and an overall lack of scares.
The final paragraph of his review reads: “At the end of the day, The Boogeyman is more than just a disappointment. It’s a completely missed opportunity. Do yourself a favor and read the short story if you haven’t already. It’s only eight or so pages and will leave your jaw on the ground. This adaptation, on the other hand, won’t.”
That’s quite the scathing indictment. I suspect his take will make you want to do one of two things. You’ll either want to rush out to see if you concur that the flick is a complete trainwreck, or you’ll take Josh at his word and run the other way. If you’re a glutton for punishment and want to make up your own mind, you can find the flick on Hulu.
That’s all that we have for you at present. Make sure to stay tuned to the site in the near future for more exciting updates from the streaming scene. If you’d like to keep tabs on me in the meantime, you can always find me on Threads as @FunWithHorror.
Categorized: News
