The Boogeyman ending explained: Does the monster die?

Nightlights at the ready, as The Boogeyman is upon us – but how does the horror movie end? And does anyone die in the Stephen King adaptation? Read on to find out.

Host director Rob Savage is back doing what he does best: making horror. Although his latest project is a take on Stephen King’s creepy short story The Boogeyman, the narrative goes far beyond the pages to deliver a detailed plot told from an entirely different perspective. 

As per the official synopsis: “The story follows a 16-year old and her younger sister, still reeling from the death of their mother, who are targeted by a supernatural boogeyman after their father, a psychologist, has an encounter with a desperate patient in their house.”

Now that the movie’s out, we’ve broken down the ending to The Boogeyman. Warning: Major spoilers ahead!

Does the monster die in The Boogeyman? Ending explained

The Boogeyman dies at the end of the movie… or does it? Let us explain: the climax sees Will (Chris Messina) and his daughters Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) battle it out against the eponymous monster that has been stalking the family throughout the film. 

After a previous experiment proved that the light-loathing insectoid can be physically hurt – despite the fact that it is sorta, kinda supernatural – they douse it in lighter fluid before lobbing their late mom’s Zippo at it, causing the boogeyman to go up in flames. 

20th Century Studios

The family make their escape as flames engulf the basement of their home, subsequently destroying the mother’s belongings in the process. It’s a symbolic moment, concluding the long-running theme that the monster is a metaphor for their grief. Now, perhaps, they’ll be able to move on as a family and deal with their emotional pain together. 

This idea is solidified with the final scene, in which Will, Sadie, and Sawyer are in a therapy session together – up until now, Sadie’s struggled to get her dad to speak to her about their loss. But now he’s finally able to admit that he was terrified of being a single dad to his two daughters, and that their late mom was the one who was strong in the parenting department. 

Sadie and Sawyer are grateful to him for finally opening up, and they agree to all support each other. It’s a seemingly heartfelt note to end the movie on – but this all changes when they leave the session, only for Dr. Weller (LisaGay Hamilton) to call Sadie back down for a quick chat. 

When she gets down the stairs, much to her horror, Dr. Weller is nowhere to be found. Instead, she sees that the cupboard door is ajar and the penny drops. That’s right – it looks like the boogeyman isn’t dead after all, perfectly setting up a sequel should Savage and Co decide to make a follow-up. 

It’s a great way to end the movie, especially as the immediate cut to the credits is accompanied by Elvis’ Burning Love, a gear change reminiscent of An American Werewolf in London’s switch to The Marcels’ Blue Moon. 

The Boogeyman is available to watch in cinemas now. You can check out our review of the movie here, and our other horror coverage here.