Monster gives a grieving family more grief in stylish horror film ‘The Boogeyman’

Little Sawyer Harper (Vivien Lyra Blair), convinced there’s a monster in the house, carries around a glowing orb at night in “The Boogeyman.” (20th Century Studios)

So many horror movies and supernatural thrillers involve single-parent situations, e.g., “The Exorcist,” “Signs,” “The Babadook,” “Child’s Play,” “A Quiet Place II,” “The Black Phone,” “Evil Dead Rises.” Just when the widowed or divorced mom or dad is convinced things can’t get any bleaker, that’s when the terror kicks in. Talk about overwhelming circumstances, man!

Such is the case with the shadowy and disturbing albeit somewhat predictable jump scare-filled “The Boogeyman,” which has a framework based on the 1973 Stephen King short story of the same name but expands that to feature-length. (King’s original work has been adapted twice into a short film and was also the basis of a full-length theatrical play.)