Review of The Boy (2016) by Quincytheodore — 27 Jan 2016

"The Boy" benefits from atmospheric visual, hissing audio and twisting narrative to make it more alive.

There's an appeal on how the movie creates an expectation to what kind of horror it may present, then turns it around with playful change in direction. It might not be all too shocking or innovative, yet the clever shift coupled with nice backdrop of quaint village setting serve as a nice foray into mystery thriller. It does however, possesses occasional conflicting tones that might undermine the tension from its enigmatic theme.

Greta (Lauren Cohen) is offered a job on rural English and it comes as a surprise to her that the job entailed is much stranger than she previously thought. While this might seem like a deal-breaker, the money is good enough to make her stick around. After a short moment there she finds strange occurrences happening to her, some of which are alarmingly eerie.

The movie is at its best when it provides a mysterious vibe. It makes audience wonder whether this is a supernatural haunting, a psychological breakdown or sinister curse. The visual for "The Boy" itself is ominously creepy while the audio plays a good role in creating the suspense. It's often the visual and audio clues that create a lingering sense of curiosity, perhaps even more effective than some of its actual scares.

Its flaws reside on the tired occurrences of "Is it a dream?" gimmick, which accompanied by a couple of lackluster jump scares. This is also a movie with a small cast, while the actors perform appropriately for most parts, there are some moments where the change of tone seems too jarring and might even ruin the immersion.

A few hiccups from the jolting pace aside, "The Boy" has assortments of amusing tricks and mysteriously creepy production to play with delightful horror.