The Boy (2016)



Movie Title: The Boy

Year Released: 2016

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 1h 38min

Genre: Horror

Director: William Brent Bell

Writer: Stacey Menear

Starring: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson, Jett Klyne, James Russell, Lily Pater

Review: A young American named Greta (Lauren Cohan) takes a job as a nanny for an 8-year-old boy in a remote English village. To her surprise, Greta learns that the child of her new employers is a life-size doll. They care for the doll as if it was human, which helps the couple to cope with the death of their own son 20 years earlier. When Greta violates a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring her worst fears to life, leading her to believe that the doll is alive.

The Boy is an interesting horror movie. There's plenty of jump scares to keep you on your toes, but it's also a pretty comical cheesefest when you boil everything down. I laughed hysterically within the first ten minutes after finding out that our main character Greta was tasked with being a nanny for a porcelain doll named Brahms, who the Heelshire family claim is their son. I know what you're thinking. What follows next must be a series of scenes where our protagonist reluctantly goes through the motions and bemoans the silliness of having to take care of a porcelain doll as if it were a human.

Yep. That's exactly what happens.

What follows this, however, is a wild series of events; some expected and some unexpected. Without giving away any of the surprise, let's just say Brahms has a mind of his own in more ways than one, and it sends poor Greta on the run for her life. Jump scares aside, this film leans more towards silly than scary for those who may be averse to horror movies. It comes across as more of a Child's Play Chucky knock-off than as a film that can stand on it's own and push the boundaries of the "scary doll" subgenre. I didn't hate this movie, as there is certainly some entertainment value here, but it didn't really do enough to make itself stand out among the many other classic horror films that we have at our disposal come October. If you've never seen this film, I would recommend it if you're a fan of the genre, with the caveat that there isn't much re-watch value here.

Stars (out of 4):
       

Fun Fact: Lauren Cohan played an American nanny traveling to the United Kingdom for her job in the film. Ironically, while Cohan is American-born, she spent her adolescence in England where she picked up and English accent that she masks to play Greta.



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