Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman centers on Sadie and Sawyer after a tragedy involving their mother. The Boogeyman is loosely based on Stephen King's short story of the same name with a pretty significant change. King's short story follows Sadie and Sawyer's therapist father, Will, during a session with a man named Lester Billings, whose children were recently killed by the boogeyman. Sadie and Sawyer didn't exist in the short story, but the film shifted the narrative to follow Will's family, with Lester appearing in the beginning, acting as a catalyst for the events in the movie that affect Will and his family.
After Sadie finds Lester's dead body in her mother's art closet, the boogeyman starts haunting her home too. Beneath the surface, the film is an exploration of trauma, as most of King's horror stories are. Will's family has recently gone through something tragic, prompting the boogeyman to feed off of their pain and fear. Their trauma comes from an event involving their mother, which happened before the events of the film, and the boogeyman is able to go after the family because they are still reeling from the trauma. Though at the end of The Boogeyman, it appears they have finally healed.
Related: Stephen King's Awful 4-Year Movie Streak Finally Ends With The Boogeyman
Sadie & Sawyer’s Mom Died: What The Boogeyman Reveals
The Boogeyman reveals that Sadie and Sawyer recently lost their mother in a car crash. The sisters and their father are having a hard time coping with her death, and Will even admits he doesn't know how their mother was able to handle everything she took on as a mother. Her death has left the family in a vulnerable place, and Sadie has also been dealing with some bullies at school. Things worsen and make her more susceptible to the boogeyman when her bullies cause her to spill yogurt on her mom's dress that she wore to school.
Sadie's younger sister is also struggling to cope with her mother's death, and she's developed a debilitating fear of the dark, which the boogeyman prays on as he thrives in the dark but can't survive in the light. The death of Sadie and Sawyer's mother makes their family an easy target for the entity that prays on vulnerable, traumatized people.
Was The Boogeyman Responsible For Sadie & Sawyer’s Mom Dying?
The Boogeyman doesn't make it clear if the boogeyman killed Sadie and Sawyer's mom, but some details in the film hint that he either did or didn't. Lester visiting Will with his story of his children being killed by the boogeyman and later being killed in Will's wife's art studio suggest the boogeyman may have killed her too. However, he also came into their life after she died because they were dealing with trauma, and that's what attracted the boogeyman. If their family were happy when their mother was alive, there would be nothing to attract the boogeyman to kill her or mess with their family.
