Hello and welcome to my latest Blog review where today I will be
giving you my review of the recently released Horror movie 'The Boy'.
Before I get started I'd like to point out that I mentioned in the
title that this is the Doll Movie, and that is because 'The Boy' as a
title is so generic that dozens of movies share that exact same
title. Anyway, on to the review.
This review will be in two parts, spoiler free followed by the
spoilers.
The Boy is about a woman named Greta whom reaches breaking point with
her abusive relationship and ditches her Boyfriend to take up the job
opportunity as a Nanny for a pair of unusual 'parents' that keep a
porcelain doll as their son to remember the original son they'd once
lost. But things start getting pretty hairy when the doll seems to be
more than just a creepy suited lad.
As
our protagonist, Greta is actually quite likable and is for the most
part, relatable for many people. The concept of her trying to build a
new life after escaping an abusive partner is one that is easy to
sympathise with and explains the purpose of her being in the house
quite nicely. Along the way she meets Malcolm, who again is also
pretty easy to relate to and quite a down to earth character. But we
didn't come to see a drama, no, we want a scary doll. And Brahms the
doll is pretty much the show-stealer as one may expect. Now don't get
me wrong, he's no Chucky. But he does want to play, provided you play
by his
rules.
There's literally nothing I can say about an inanimate object's
on-screen presence, he plays the role of scary doll pretty well, like
he was born for it.
In terms of visuals, the film is shot pretty nicely and has some okay
effects. If you're expecting the doll to get up and go on a murderous
rampage then you'll be in for a let-down. The atmosphere of the movie
however is always quite tense and you are left wondering how things
are happening.
[Scroll down for rating]
>>SPOILERS<<
So
how
does the creepy little bugger do it... Well the answer is actually
really not that special. Brahms the boy never died, he survived and
grew up to be a not so healthy adult that lives in the basement and
manipulates Brahms the doll when people aren't looking. Yeah not
really what you were hoping for. Although it is an interesting
concept... when it was done first in the movie 'Housebound' which
achieved the desired scare factor much better than The Boy does.
After Greta's abusive Ex tracks her down and
breaks into the house she's staying at where she watches Brahms, he
gets into an argument and does the unthinkable... he breaks the dolls
face, shattering it against the floor. Immediately the Ex (Cole)
regrets this mistake when the house starts creaking and shaking and
the adult Brahms crashes the party via the full length mirror. Making
an entrance where we the audience sit with our mouths wide open
waiting to see what this ugly monster could look like. Turns out, not
really all that bad. This is the point in the movie when everything
goes downhill big time. The villain has made his way into the movie
and now for the next 10 – 15 minutes the film turns into a chase
sequence and the typical fighting between scared victims and mad
killer. It all comes to an end when Greta soothes then stabs Brahms,
potentially killing him. She pegs it and at the end of the film, the
doll is being put back together. Dun dun dunnnnn.
>>END OF SPOILERS<<
The Boy starts off well and the second
act carries on at a decent pace. I was never bored during the film.
But the end is a Serious let down.
The problem is that after the third or
forth jump scare you just stop getting nervous, and instead the
creepiness is what you hope keeps you scared. Which it does sort of,
although it's not quite as creepy and unnerving as one may hope.
Like I said though, it's the ending
that kills it. The Boy copies another movie with its ending, however
it just doesn't work as well in virtually any aspect. The doll that
we are all supposed to fear takes a back seat in the end to the real
villain, the Ex. And the story about Greta and Cole becomes the
biggest worry for the viewer because the threat seems more present.
Halfway through the film, Brahms doesn't seem as fearsome as he once
did and that never changes until the end, but then when it happens,
the whole premise about the scary doll is shattered both figuratively
and literally.
All in all the boy had potential but
fell flat. Honestly, the scariest thing about the film is the trailer
that got everyone in the cinema in the first place. It's not a flop.
But it's easily forgotten and the ending will divide many viewers.
The Boy gets a Witless Reviews Rating
of: OKAY
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