Stephen King fans are going to have a lot of fun with The Boogeyman. For starters, as I wrote in my CinemaBlend review of the movie, it’s a consistently scary ride that is a blast to experience with a theater full of people, but it’s also very much a love letter to the author who wrote the short story on which the film is based. This is evident in both its treatment of the source material (the adaptation building on and operating as a semi-sequel to King’s work) and the impressive number of Easter eggs – which are so plentiful that even director Rob Savage continues to find new ones when he watches his work.
I brought up the subject of hidden references and nods to Stephen King’s books when I interviewed the filmmaker earlier this month during the Los Angeles press day for The Boogeyman, and he explained how including them in the movie was a collaborative effort. There are some that Savage himself specifically pushed for, but he gives a great amount of credit to production designer Jeremy Woodward for going the extra mile. Said the filmmaker,
It's everywhere. I keep spotting things because there are some that I put in specifically, and then a lot of them [were included by] Jeremy Woodward, our amazing production designer – down to like in the bathroom, the toothpaste is like named after something in a short story that Jeremy remembered. Stuff you won't even see that will never make it onto screen is in there. Every single picture in the house is a reference to a Stephen King story. It's insane the amount of Easter eggs that are in this film.
To get a better sense of just how plentiful the Stephen King references are, fans can even find a one in the climactic final seconds of the Boogeyman trailer that dropped back in April:
If you look at the right side of the door in the final shot, you’ll notice that the house number is “19” – which is a number that frequently appears in Stephen King’s books (most prominently in his epic Dark Tower series). There’s also another residence in the film with the house number “217,” which is a reference to the nightmare-filled Room 217 from The Shining.
It will be a fun exercise for Stephen King fans to see just how many Easter eggs can be spotted – and the opportunity to participate in this game is coming. Featuring a stellar cast that includes Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, David Dastmalchian, and LisaGay Hamilton, The Boogeyman is heading to theaters this Friday, June 2. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interview with director Rob Savage digging deep into the film, and head over to our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide to learn about all of the adaptations and King-related projects that are currently in the works.
