Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Horror, Movies | Tagged: chris messina, film, horror, The Boogeyman

Chris Messina Talks Lessons from The Boogeyman Film

One of the core stars of the recent horror film The Boogeyman is revealing his biggest takeaway courtesy of director Rob Savage.

Published Sat, 17 Jun 2023 12:47:11 -0500

by Aedan Juvet

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The Boogeyman has been in theaters for a few weeks now, and while it's not proving to be the horror event of the year – the film has still managed to impress with a few well-timed scares occasionally. That, along with a strong cast and impactful director, makes the recent horror flick a worthwhile genre treat for those who are into a little spooky fun.

3 New Images From The Boogeyman Are Released — (L-R): Sophie Thatcher as Sadie Harper and Vivien Lyra Blair as Sawyer Harper in 20th Century Studios' THE BOOGEYMAN, exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Patti Perret. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

And while there's always something to learn from a horror movie, one of the film's established actors is now sharing the biggest lesson he's taken away from The Boogeyman experience.

The Essential Tension Attached to The Boogeyman

When discussing his biggest takeaway from The Boogeyman with Collider, star Chris Messina revealed that the film's director Rob Savage helped to create perfect tension. Messina explains, "Rob would do these things — it sounds so little, but there's a scene at the beginning, which is the short story with David and I, and there's a section where I'm getting scared and amped up and worried, and I get up and go for the door, and so every time I would get up and go for the door rather quickly, it sounds so small, but Rob would say, 'Slowly get up and slowly walk to the door, and then look back at David.' Again, it sounds like nothing, but you do it, and it creates so much more tension. So it's little things like that along the way that Rob kind of directed me to do that I learned a lot from [and] if I do this again, I hope to carry."

The recent horror flick stars Sophie Thatcher as Sadie Harper, Messina as Will Harper, Vivien Lyra Blair as Sawyer Harper, Marin Ireland as Rita Billings, Madison Hu as Bethany, LisaGay Hamilton as Dr. Weller, and David Dastmalchian as Lester Billings. The Boogeyman is directed by Savage with a screenplay penned by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman, alongside producers Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen for 20th Century Studios, 21 Laps Entertainment, and NeoReel.