‘The Boogeyman’ TikTok Stunt Lets Viewers Haunt Influencers

While Spider-Verse will be lighting up the box office this weekend, there’s one hidden horror gem that you and your terrified best friend don’t want to miss. That would be The Boogeyman from director Rob Savage. The film, based on the Stephan King short story of the same name, continues 2023’s standout year for horror and the trend of cleverly scary marketing campaigns. In the newest publicity stunt, The Boogeyman has created an interactive “scare room” that lets viewers take control of this haunting demonic force during its release week.

The fright-filled experience took place over on TikTok where various influences were locked in a room for 12-hours. Their goal was to attempt to sleep in the room for those hours from 9 PM to 9 AM. The only problem, besides the general creepiness of the situation, was that viewers watching the livestream had control of what happened in the room by using the chat. They were the Boogeyman to these poor souls. The things they controlled were staple haunted house actions like doors opening and slamming shut, reds appearing in the closet, fog machines, spooky figures appearing in the windows, and The Boogeyman trailer on the TV turning into Poltergeist esc static. If that wasn’t enough, there was, you could also take control of a hand that comes out from under the bed and a chair that rocks back and forth. Over the first couple days more than one million viewers have tuned into the livestream and there’s one final livestream happening tonight, June 2, starting at 9 PM. From the images and video clips taken from the previous streams, this has been one ingenious marketing move.

What’s The Boogeyman About?

The Boogeyman follows a father named Will Harper and his two daughters, Sadie and Sawyer, dealing with the tragic loss of their wife/mother. However, things only get worse when a new patient of Will’s brings a dark force into their house only known as The Boogeyman. If the Harper family wants to survive this demonic force, they must unite before it’s too late. While The Boogeyman on the surface looked to be another modern horror film exploring trauma, anyone who was familiar with Savage’s past work, knew that this was going to be anything but a generic horror romp. Savage previously directed two of the best found footage films in recent memory with Host and Dashcam. Those two scarefests used their environments and shadows to effectively terrorize the heck out of its victims.

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The Boogeyman has that same fear induced nightmare fuel and takes it to the next horrifying level while applying it to a more traditional genre film. This adaption has some of the best jump scares in years with one scene involving a door that will haunt your mind for a very long time. Like James Wan, Andy Muschietti, and Leigh Whannell before him, Savage reminds horror fans that jump scares can be an art form when done properly. The atmosphere in Boogeyman is so thick and, while there’s been a lot of fun horror released in 2023 like M3GAN and Scream VI, this is the first purely terrifying film to come along in some time. It’s a film that will have you checking your closet and keeping the lights on days after you see.

The Boogeyman’s Haunting Theaters Now

As of right now The Boogeyman is estimated to make $15 million in its opening weekend which is not bad considering its competition. However, with scary good marketing like this latest TikTok campaign, that box office projection may only be going up. The Boogeyman’s in theaters now. The trailer and Collider’s own interview with the cast can be seen down below.