Review of The Boy (2016) by Chris O — 22 Sep 2016

A weird, yet notable effort, falling short due to execution and writing.

Greta, played by Lauren Cohan, wants to escape her old life in America. So, in order to do so, she takes up a job babysitting for an elderly couple out in England, only to be introduced to a young doll. At first, she doesn't accept that this is actually happening, but as time goes on, she starts to wonder if what's happening is actually a reality.

If anything, the best words to describe this movie are weird and awkward. I felt kind of uncomfortable at times, and not in an effective way. It was more of a, "I'm glad I'm not watching this with anyone". It may seem like this movie is completely out of left field, but it's not. It had some interesting ideas in there and I can tell they tried to make a smart film, but it just fell short.

The screenplay for me was the biggest weakness of this film. The director so clearly had a vision in mind and I can tell that he wanted to make this more effective psychological film. There were definitely some cool ideas and some decent shots, but it just didn't flow. It all felt really out of place and it was never really working for me. The dialogue was very weird and unnatural, and like I said, it came off as just weird.

Lauren Cohan was a great lead actress. We've seen her on "The Walking Dead" for how many seasons now and she looks like a veteran walking into this film. She keeps her composure and puts on a great performance, and I honestly would love to see her in another horror, suspense, or drama film. I really did like what she brought to the table and she's good at excelling in those darker genres.

The movie had a few too many jump scares, all which were highly ineffective. Pair that with the tireless dream sequences and confusing events and you get a large mess. There were a lot of concerns and questions running through my mind that either got no answer, or was answered in the most confusing way possible. The overall story had a clear vision but the execution and small details were less than adequate.

In the end, "The Boy" is an okay, throw-away horror film that could've been a lot better. I personally wouldn't recommend you got out and seek this movie, but if you're looking for a watchable horror movie that'll interest you more than scare you, this might be it.