Review of The Boy (2016) by Brett H — 12 Feb 2016

As generic as the title is, The Boy is an effectively creepy horror film whose strengths lie in the suspense it masterfully builds, though you may have to stretch your imagination to make the ending reveal make any sense.

The film stars Lauren Cohan of The Walking Dead fame as a nanny who's hired by a wealthy British family to care for their son while they are away, the only problem: their "son" is a 2-foot tall, porcelain doll.

Right off the bat, this film has a great hook, the parents fully believe the doll is their son, Brahms, and we, like the main character, think they're nuts; but are they? It's after she begins to break the rules laid out by the parents and strange things begin to happen, such as: her clothes going missing, that she becomes convinced that this doll just might be alive.

Scary doll movies can be good (the Child's Play franchise) and they can be absolute crap (Annabelle), and this film falls somewhere in the middle. The film is directed by William Brent Bell who previously gave us Stay Alive and The Devil Inside, and without question this is his strongest film with actual tension crafted and a few good jolts.

Once we get to the ending and the "twist" is revealed, it can make or break the film for many, and without spoiling what it is, you really have to reach to have it add up with everything you'd seen previous otherwise it makes absolutely no sense.

It's certainly a better January horror film than it has the right to be and a beautiful lead doesn't hurt, but don't expect it to revolutionize the genre as the cliches are definitely present and the very ending is typical as hell.