There are three certainties in life; death, taxes, and the never-ending train of Stephen King screen adaptations.
Indeed, the body of work amassed by the literary horror legend has been prime real estate for live-action since 1976’s Carrie, and this coming weekend will see director Rob Savage go all the way back to a 1973 short story in an attempt to absolutely scare us out of our wits. We speak, of course, of The Boogeyman, a once-Hulu exclusive that evoked enough nightmares in test audiences for 20th Century Studios to send it to cinemas.
So far, reviews have been about as kind to the tension-packed ghost story as the film itself has been cruel to viewers’ nervous systems, but you can’t elicit a response like that without making your viewers care about the plight of your characters, and Sophie Thatcher – who portrays the film’s protagonist Sadie Harper – was extra meticulous when it came to building a King-worthy heroine.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Thatcher touched the cast’s wholesome, collective method acting approach to building a familial ethos for the audience to latch onto, and played up the importance of empathy when it came to building characters both in and outside of horror projects.
“I think that is just the core. The core of any movie, but for horror to work, you have to build empathy within the character. I think we had a couple of weeks before shooting, and we all tried to get close, did some outings, and just made sure there was a closeness within us naturally because you read that on screen. You want to feel that there’s a lived in family dynamic. I think that the core of their emotions informs everything for the viewer because if you don’t feel for them, then you’re not going to want to follow them on their journey.”
The Boogeyman follows Sadie and Sawyer Harper, two sisters who are currently contending with the death of their mother, all without the support of their equally-traumatized father. When a mysterious patient shows up at their house in search of the father, a therapist by trade, a malicious force finds its way into the Harper household soon after, and it doesn’t seem all that interested in letting the family live.
The Boogeyman is due in theaters on June 2.