The Boy: Movie Review
Director William Brant Bell’s “The Boy” is easily his best film to date. Keep in mind that his previous works include 2006’s “Stay Alive”, 2012’s “The Devil Inside” and 2013’s “Wer”. Each one of those films were terrible. “The Boy” while still pretty bad, it is not nearly as awful as those other films. The same problem with 2014’s “Annabelle” plagues “The Boy”, simply having a creepy doll on camera does not make something scary. The audience at the fan screening I attended seemed to consist of mostly teenage girls and they screamed quite a bit throughout the film. However, there was not a single frightening moment for me.
American nanny Greta Evans ( Lauren Cohan of “The Walking Dead”), has decided to escape her past and head to England where she has been hired by Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire (Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle respectively) to look after their son Brahms while they go on holiday. What the couple failed to tell Grata before she arrived is that Brahms is actually a life-sized doll. Greta is of course taken back by the revelation but decides to take the job anyways.
Once Greta is alone in the country house with the creepy looking doll, she starts to notice strange things. Not only do some of her clothes go missing, but the doll seems to move around the house when she is not looking. She can even hear footsteps and a young sounding voice, though she never actually sees the doll move or speak. The Heelshire’s gave Greta a list of rules that she must follow and if she strays from the list, she might make Brahms a bit angry. That would definitely not be a good idea.
Greta isn’t completely alone with the doll. Malcolm (Rupert Evans), the shop owner from town, makes weekly food and supply deliveries. He also fancies Greta, which has him coming by the house more often. When he realized that Greta is becoming a bit too attached to the doll and that there is something strange going on in the house, he doesn’t think she should stay. Yet, Greta won’t leave Brahms alone.
If you are looking for a horror movie about a doll on a killing spree, “The Boy” is definitely not for you. There are a few deaths in the film but not in the way you would expect. Those of you hoping that one day Brahms and Annabelle will team up for a film in which they go on a murderous rampage (ala “Bride of Chucky”), that will never happen. Though to be honest they totally look like they belong together. There is nothing here worth recommending, so I suggest skipping “The Boy”.
By: Marc Ferman