Review of The Boy (2015) by Guimo P — 19 Aug 2015

The psychological origin of psycho, although it may be too slow for some.

Growing up without internet or video game is bad enough, but Ted has to live in a remote motel in the middle of nowhere. The premise of a child gradually becoming more bizarre in his nature is executed fairly well, it gives audience a clear view of how the isolation and what little interaction he has shapes his mind. However, with runtime almost two hours and majority of it is uneventful, this slow burner might not appeal to mainstream audience.

Thriller or horror nowadays is leaning towards faster pace developments. For example, Gone Girl delivers twists and turns frequently. The Boy is more of a slow burner, it portrays Ted and his strange mental process. Much of it is by his body language and others' influences. This keeps the audience guessing on his state of mind as the young boy seemingly perceives things awkwardly different than we would.

The better parts of the movie show that Ted might just be the victim of condition or unlucky encounter with wrong people. From his father and guests, all have inherited flaws which Ted may misguidedly follow. The other angle is he's already disturbed from the beginning and takes advantage of others. He doesn't talk much, and it's probably better that way since the scenes are more effectively when he's silent.

The main concern is the slow pace. Sure, it has good cinematography, but there are many lingering shots. Music is steadily becoming grim, and this is more weird than dreadful since there's barely significant development as the scenes are prolonged more than they need be. It feels as though the movie hypes a dreadful scene only to shift to normal dialogue.

It's eerie at times simply by how isolated and lonely The Boy is portrayed, but it could benefit from faster screenplay, especially in few bland moments that barely contribute to the story.