The horror genre is in a really great place right now, with last year's successful Halloween season being followed by early 2023 hits including M3GAN, Knock At The Cabin and Scream VI. And even more exciting is that there are a lot of scary movies due out in the coming months. This summer, for example, audiences will be able to see the latest adaptation from the works of Stephen King – director Rob Savage's The Boogeyman – and based on comments from star David Dastmalchian, movie-goers should start mentally preparing for the experience now.
CinemaBlend's Philip Sledge recently spoke with the actor – who is currently promoting his latest movie, Hulu's The Boston Stranger – and he had some very high praise to share when the subject of the conversation turned to The Boogeyman. The movie won't be hitting theaters until June, but David Dastmalchian has already gotten to see a cut of it, and he makes it sound like a nightmare-inducer:
This adaptation is so good. I got to see the film recently. It’s one of the scariest movies I’ve seen in a very long time. I’m very proud to be a part of it, and I really, I cannot wait for people to get their eyes on this movie. I think the fact that it’s moved from a streaming platform to a theatrical release is what it needs because it’s the kind of film you wanna see in a packed house where people are screaming and jumping out of their seats.
What David Dastmalchian is referring to in the second half of that thought is the fact that The Boogeyman was originally developed to be a Hulu exclusive. That plan changed in January when it was announced that 20th Century Studios was giving the movie a theatrical release. It was originally reported that it was the positive response from test screenings that made executives rethink the feature's theatrical potential, but we learned earlier this month from co-writers/producers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods that Stephen King had a direct hand in changing the distribution strategy.
The Boogeyman is based on the short story of the same name, which was first featured in the 1978 collection Night Shift – though the adaptation is changing quite a lot from the source material. While King's version centers on a man named Lester Billings who tells a therapist how a monster has been killing his children, the movie centers on the two daughters of a therapist, played by Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair, who contend with a monster living in their house following the death of their mother.
David Dastmalchian's role is actually special in The Boogeyman in that he is playing Lester Billings, who is changed from being the story's protagonist to being a supporting character. It seems that it's fitting casting, as Dastmalchian says that he is definitely a fan of the legendary author:
Stephen King is a very big influence on me as both a writer and storyteller, performer. I’ve always sought a lot of inspiration from him. I think he is one of the great masters. And so the fact that I got to be part of an adaptation of one of his films, and by the way, the writers of The Boogeyman, they are some of the best writers in Hollywood right now, and they crushed it.
The first trailer for The Boogeyman premiered online a couple months ago, and you can watch it below:
For more about The Boogeyman, check our our Quick Things guide, and you can learn about all of the Stephen King projects in the works via our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV feature. For a full history of King's works brought to life by filmmakers, check out my Adapting Stephen King column.
