Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, and David Dastmalchian star in Rob Savage’s horror film.
The last few years have seen many planned big-screen releases premiering on streaming services.
“It was a Hulu movie when I signed up,” the British filmmaker tells EW.
Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair in ‘The Boogeyman’.Patti Perret/20th Century Studios
Ironically, Savage’s breakthrough filmHostwas very much designed as a small-screen venture.
“I got a deluge of scripts that I was offered right afterHosthit big,” Savage says.
“I saw the title for this one,The Boogeyman, and I kind of rolled my eyes.
Vivien Lyra Blair in ‘The Boogeyman’.Patti Perret/20th Century Studios
Then I remembered reading the Stephen King short story as a kid.
Beck and Woods had the genius idea of using that almost as the inciting incident for a larger feature.
I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a real opportunity here.'”
Rob Savage directing Sophie Thatcher and Vivien Lyra Blair on the set of ‘The Boogeyman’.Patti Perret/20th Century Studios
The director recalls swiftly bonding with Thatcher over their mutual fondness for the weird-as-hell 1981 horror filmPossession.
We spent the whole Zoom talking about niche arthouse horror movies.
I was like, okay, we’ve got a common language here."
Chris Messina in ‘The Boogeyman’.20th Century Studios
For her part, Thatcher recalls thinking, “This man knowseverythingabout horror.
You could tell he was very passionate and it was going to be a very special movie.”
Savage’s enthusiasm was more than evident to Messina during the film’s shoot in New Orleans.
“He directed that movie like he was directingApocalypse Now,” the actor says.
Savage reveals that casting a horror fan in Thatcher paid off when they shot the film’s scarier scenes.
“But that’s acting.
I don’t know how, but it did!”
King also gave his thumbs-up after seeingThe Boogeymanon the big screen.
“We rented out his favorite cinema in Maine,” Savage says.
It was a real relief."
“It was so fun to see it in a theater,” he says.
It was such a nice communal experience.
To have this in movie theater, it means a great deal to me."
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