Review: 'The Boogeyman' is an effective slow-burn of a horror movie that suggests more than it shows

Mounting an effective PG-13 horror movie requires finesse, subtlety, an ability to suggest awful events without showing them outright, with a minimum of blood and gore — things director Rob Savage does quite well in “The Boogeyman.”

Based on a Stephen King short story, the movie centers on a family still processing a recent trauma: The death of the family’s wife and mother, Cara Harper (Shauna Rappold). Her husband, Will (Chris Messina), is a psychiatrist who’s trying to behave normally and see patients. His daughters are each handling things differently — Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), who’s 10, sleeps with lights on and worries about monsters in her closet, while teen Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) talks to her therapist (LisaGay Hamilton) and otherwise broods.

Turns out Sawyer may have the right idea. There’s something creepy and unsettling in their house, and it seems to be crossing into our world through Sawyer’s closet.

Meanwhile, Will is visited by a disturbed man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), who says he’s been wrongly accused of murdering his children. His kids are dead, but he attributes their deaths on a malevolent presence that’s haunting him. Lester then hangs himself in the Harper house, in the walk-in closet of Cara’s attic art studio. Sadie finds the body, which sends her into a terrifying search for answers — starting with Lester’s wife, Rita (Marin Ireland).

Savage has a strong writing team — Scott Beck and Bryan Woods wrote “A Quiet Place,” and Mark Heyman worked on “Black Swan” and the Sundance dysfunctional drama “The Skeleton Twins” — and together they build up the suspense with a measured pace. The scares start small, but they build to an unsettling climax. The monster is revealed gradually, and only fully in the final reel, making its presence more effective as an idea than an onscreen presence.

Messina (who recently lit up Ben Affleck’s “Air” as a foul-mouthed agent) is effective here as the quiet father, trying to puzzle out what’s happening with his kids. The standout is Thatcher, recently impressing audiences on “Yellowjackets,” who here embodies teen cynicism and bottled-up grief, both of which serve her well as she confronts the demons in the house and in her family. 

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‘The Boogeyman’

★★★

Opens Friday, June 2, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, teen drug use and some strong language. Running time: 98 minutes.