The Boogeyman Director Used A Masterful Tactic To Form Cast Chemistry

Rob Savage's new horror film "The Boogeyman" is, like many recent horror films, all about grief. The central family of the film consists of a father (Chris Messina), his teenage daughter Sadie (Sophie Thatcher), and the eight-year-old Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair). Hanging over them all is the death of the family's matriarch, a beloved wife and mother who left an emotional hole in the house, as well as a great deal of clothes and painting supplies. Every day is grey and sad, and the family is trying to pick up the pieces as best they can. Into the bleakness comes a symbolic monster, the titular Boogeyman, who creeps out of closets and stalks humans from the shadows. The monster can imitate the voices of loved ones, and can seemingly slip through shadowy schisms in the space-time continuum, ceasing to exist when the lights are flicked on. 

Wisely the monster is never closely seen throughout the bulk of "The Boogeyman," making its unseen presence all the scarier. Instead, the camera lingers on the faces of its three central cast members — Thatcher mostly — and their expressions of terror as the creature creeps ever closer. Having lost their mom/wife, the family unit is that much more fragile, and they must cling together for emotional warmth. As such, chemistry between the actors was key. If the audience wasn't convinced that this family cared about each other, then the terror would be less effective. 

In a recent interview with Variety, Messina revealed a notable tactic for feeling like a family, namely: living like one for two straight weeks. 

According to Chris Messina, the rehearsal process for "The Boogeyman" took two weeks, which he said is more than the average. Some productions don't have much rehearsal time at all. With half a month to work things out, characters could be discovered. How does one assemble an imaginary family in just 14 days? It seems that merely having fun together and playing games did the trick. By the actor's description: 

"We had about two weeks of a rehearsal process, which is not usual. [...] It was really me and my daughters going to the aquarium, or we went bowling, or we had a bunch of pizza and hung out. By the time we got the set, we really liked each other. We really trusted each other. Therefore, we were a family." 

Messina didn't talk about the nature of his communication with his co-stars, or if they pretended to be a family in public or called each other by their characters' names, but going bowling did allow for an element of bonding. By the time they got to set, they were willing to go where the script needed them to.

The trips were planned by "The Boogeyman" director Rob Savage. It seems the filmmaker relied on his cast's familiarity with one another to make sure they were open to expressing fear and screaming their heads off when a monster appeared. Savage seemed nervous that his cast would feel self-conscious acting frightened in front of other actors, especially his younger cast members. Messina's trick of bonding prior to filming certainly helped leaven any of that anxiety. Once the cast was comfortable, they could make big swings.

Rob Savage told Variety: 

"I wanted to feel like the actors could bring their own ideas and we could shoot a version that's just as scripted, but then also do alt takes. [...] I knew we would only get useful material there if they were familiar with each other and comfortable enough to try stuff out and not be afraid to look like idiots in front of each other. So I purposely chose day trips where they had to look like idiots in front of each other."

The warmth was important, but so was the fear. In assuring that his cast was comfortable, he knew he could get them to wail on a moment's notice. An actor, no matter how professional, may not be so deeply committed to a role that they'll lose themselves in terror. If Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, and Vivien Lyra Blair already knew each other on a friendly level, then they would, by Savage's thinking, be that much more willing to scream. Although the film is about grief and fear, it seems that the set was suffused with comfort and fun. 

Thatcher also understood the importance of depicting familial familiarity. "The family has to feel real or you don't believe the movie at all," she said.

Of course, the monster had to look cool. Whether or not they invited any actual Boogeymen to the set or on bowling excursions remains unknown. Boogeymen, as we all know, are preternaturally gifted when it comes to bowling.