Stephen King's reign on the big screen continued with The Boogeyman. Based on the 1973 short story of the same name, the story centers on a grieving father and his two kids, teenager Sadie and young girl Sawyer, following the death of their mother, only for their grief to attract the attention of a dangerous entity.
Sophie Thatcher leads the ensemble cast of The Boogeyman alongside Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Marin Ireland, Madison Hu and David Dastmalchian. Helmed by acclaimed Host director Rob Savage and co-written by A Quiet Place's Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the King adaptation has garnered mixed-to-positive reviews for its haunting atmosphere and lead performances, though feeling the story failed to live up to its source material.
As time draws nearer for the movie's home release, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with FOLKS VFX Supervisor Jonathan Piche-Delorme and Head of Creatures/Senior CG Supervisor Gabriel Beauvais to discuss The Boogeyman, the process behind crafting the terrifying entity, avoiding comparisons to other similar genre creatures, and more. Note: This interview was conducted during the SAG-AFTRA strike, and the movie covered here would not exist without the labor of writers and actors in WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions.
Jonathan Piche-Delorme & Gabriel Beauvais Talk The Boogeyman
Screen Rant: How were you and your team first approached to be part of The Boogeyman team?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: Christina and Paul Graff approached me, offering the opportunity to join their upcoming project. Considering our successful collaborations in the past, it was an easy decision for me to accept. We consulted with the FOLKS team to ensure that we could handle the project, and it turned out to be a good fit for us.
Gabriel Beauvais: We were fortunate to be brought on board for the project right from the beginning, which allowed us to take charge of both the design and the final output. When we came on board, a few ideas were already being considered, but the production team wasn't entirely pleased. At first, I felt a bit anxious when I saw the concepts from artists I deeply admire. However, I transformed that unease into a positive drive, seeing it as an opportunity to rise to the challenge.
What were the creative conversations with Rob Savage like in creating the eponymous being? Did you try and adhere as closely to King's story descriptions as possible, did he come to you with design sketches, did some of the design come from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' script?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: Rob is a walking movie dictionary. He has an extensive knowledge of references and is eager to explore different directions. His enthusiasm and motivation were truly inspiring to us. When we began, there were already several concepts created by talented artists, but none of them fully captured the production vision. It was clear from the start that there was no intention to replicate existing Boogeyman drawings or descriptions. Maintaining a human appearance was crucial for the production, as the Boogeyman is still a man and not something from another world.
Gabriel Beauvais: Effective communication with Rob and the entire production team was vital in delivering the concept. Thanks to Paul and Xina, who allowed us to be at the forefront of communication, we felt like valued team members.
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: At a certain point, although quite subtle, I wanted the creature to have a certain Stephen King-esque quality. Therefore, I drew inspiration from Pennywise, which is why the Boogeyman has a long, triangular-shaped scar eyebrow and a devilish smile. The reddish elements are also influenced by King's style.
Though certainly a unique design, part of me couldn't help but be reminded of A Quiet Place's aliens in the long spindly legs and thin body, was that an inspiration at all in coming up with the Boogeyman's appearance?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: The creature from A Quiet Place is truly intriguing and visually stunning. While it's easy to draw similarities with a dark, four-legged creature, I believe the Quiet Place creature is more reminiscent of a bat with incredibly long arms and no eyes.
Gabriel Beauvais: On the other hand, the Boogeyman is portrayed as a man who has lost his soul to darkness, inhabited by an even deeper darkness within. We paid particular attention to his facial features, aiming to give him a hollow, lifeless gaze, a devilish smile, and unique teeth. The concept of teeth as hands was inspired by Keith Thomson, a brilliant creature designer who worked on the show. It was truly inspiring to see his designs as a starting point. Additionally, I drew inspiration from mummies and burned cadavers, and greatly admire Zdzisław Beksiński, whose book is always within reach for inspiration.
One of the more terrifying elements of the Boogeyman was particularly its soul strings feeding off of Sadie in the climax. Can you tell me a little bit more about the function of them and what their appearance symbolizes for the viewer?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: The development of the soul strings effects took several weeks or months. Our initial concept was based on the idea of The Boogeyman feeding on the fear and essence of its victims. We aimed to represent this concept visually.
Gabriel Beauvais: Our team dedicated significant effort to defining the essence of the soul strings. We collaborated extensively with our art department to establish the concept. Furthermore, we worked closely with R&D, a DG double, and the FX department to strike the right balance between the strings' attraction to the human body and The Boogeyman's attraction to them.
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: In the end, we devised the idea of twisted black strands resembling spaghetti, which became the embodiment of the soul strings in our project.
Gabriel Beauvais: Merging the visual and conceptual elements was an interesting and enjoyable process.
Considering much of this movie is set in the darkness, and the creature itself can't stand the light, do you find that easier or more challenging both in coming up with the creature's design, and the digital environments it's going to interact in?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: Working with a creature that is constantly in darkness posed a challenge as we wanted to showcase its details. During the design phase, we emphasized the face, jaw, and eyes, ensuring their visibility even in low light. Our focus was on incorporating intricate details into the creature's visuals to ensure its appearance remained impressive when lighting was applied. Throughout the compositing process, we meticulously highlighted the creature's crucial parts to maximize its visibility. Each time we reviewed a shot, we realized the significant level of darkness involved. If the creature had been filmed on set, it would have required a complex lighting setup to capture its details accurately.
What would you say was the most challenging sequence to help craft? Was it challenging due to something practical on set, or was it striving to match Savage's ambition for it?
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: Determining the most challenging shot or sequence is a tough decision, as both the battle shot and the final shot presented their difficulties. However, if I had to choose, the big fight scene stands out as the most challenging.
Gabriel Beauvais: In particular, the sequence where Sadie is thrown to the ground by The Boogeyman and the soul string materializes between the two characters proved to be quite demanding. Additionally, capturing the close-up shot of The Boogeyman's true face, revealing a creature within a creature, added another layer of complexity.
Jonathan Piche-Delorme: This CFX shot spanned approximately 1000 frames and involved intricate animation work as two characters interacted within two adjacent worlds. Throughout the shot's creation process, various aspects posed challenges, including animation, composition, and lighting.
Gabriel Beauvais: The main difficulty arose from seamlessly aligning the double reality, as the two worlds did not naturally converge. Overcoming these obstacles required meticulous attention to detail and collaboration across multiple stages of production.
The ending seemingly sets up the Boogeyman being alive, despite it being pretty definitively burned up to ash in the basement, and Savage has discussed having story ideas for the sequel. What are your thoughts on the Boogeyman's potential fate, and can you tell me if you've discussed anything with Savage about the future?
Gabriel Beauvais: In VFX, most of the time, we don't see sequences without VFX. So the ending was a surprise for us when we saw it for the first time. This is my interpretation, so don't take it too seriously. But I think the Boogeyman cannot be killed, really. He lives in your fear and is fed by them. Don't feed the beast, or it will come back. At least Sadie showed us that her fears were behind her.
About The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman is a screenplay written by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman, based on the 1973 short story by Stephen King. The film follows Sadie Harper and her little sister Sawyer who have to navigate their new life after the death of their mother while not receiving any support from their grieving father, Will, a therapist. One day an unexpected patient shows up at their house in need of help, and he leaves behind a supernatural entity.
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The Boogeyman is expected for a home media release in August.