The Boy
Tags: murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
In the opening scene, we see Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan) riding in a limousine. The path leading to the house is secluded, with forest all around. The limousine driver knocks on the window, and she wakes with a start as she has fallen asleep during the drive. Greta gets out of the limousine and looks at the manor in awe. The limousine driver tells Greta he has already taken her things inside for her since she was asleep. He asks her to go inside and wait in the parlor before he gets in the limousine and drives off.Greta goes into the house and is about to go in before she figures she should take off her shoes. She sets them by the door and calls out. No one is in the parlor and no comes to greet her, but she hears a rustling upstairs so she decides to check it out. She hesitantly goes up the staircase a bit and calls out again. Along the stairs is a huge painted family portrait of the Heelshires. It's clear they are a very regal family.Hearing nothing, she moves on to a room filled with old-fashioned toys. She picks one up and laughs a bit before being completely startled by a noise behind her. It's Malcolm (Rupert Evans), standing at the doorway. Hes the grocery boy that comes weekly to bring produce for the Heelshires. They introduce each other, and he asks to have her help in packing the groceries away. They chat, and he's obviously already smitten by Greta, but she remains polite. We find out that Greta is an American, who has moved to the UK for the first time to work for the Heelshires.He tells her his grandma reads tea leaves, and his mother reads palms. When she asks what he reads, he replies "with gum." Playing along, she gives him the gum she's been chewing on. He makes a cliché reading that doesn't impress her very much. He tries again with a second, saying that she is running from a bad past. This evidently hits close to home, as Greta instantly shutters. He tries to play it off, but Greta pushes past it and asks Malcolm what the Heelshires are like, as no one have made an appearance yet.He says they are nice enough and very generous. He starts to say something about Brahms, but he is stopped by the arriving of Mrs. Heelshire (Diana Hardcastle). She doesn't look kindly upon Greta and instantly notices her sock-clad feet. Greta says she left her shoes by the front and not wanting to displease Mrs. Heelshire, runs to get them.However, her shoes are gone. Mrs. Heelshire waves it off, saying Brahms likes to play. She asks Greta to put other shoes on, and they will meet the rest of the family. On the way, Mrs. Heelshire says she hopes that Greta works out because they have tried with other nannies in the past. She notes that Greta is much younger and prettier than the others, so hopefully Brahms will take a liking to her. Before arriving at the parlor, they can hear Mr. Heelshire talking softly to Brahms, telling him to behave. When Mr. Heelshire stands up, Greta sees that Brahms is just a life-like porcelain doll.They introduce her to Brahms, and she just stares disbelievingly at the doll before laughing, thinking its a joke. However, her amusement dies off upon the very serious looks of Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire. Malcolm, however, steps in and tells the Heelshires that their food is packed, and he will be back next week. He steps past Greta, and takes Brahmss doll hand and shakes it, telling him that he will see Brahms next week. Upon the interaction, Mrs. Heelshire smiles dotingly. Malcolm leaves, but not before shooting Greta a look that says just play along.Greta takes the dolls arm and says with a forced smile that she hopes they can be friends.Mrs. Heelshire shows Greta around the kitchen, saying that they never dispose of leftovers. They have a special area that they put in, some sort of portable fridge container off to the side. Mr. Heelshire takes her outside and tells her about the traps around they have to trap vermin. He doesn't think its necessary but tells her Mrs. Heelshire is worried about rats in the walls. He also mentions all the windows are painted shut, as in accidentally (but it doesn't sound like it). At the end of the walk, Mr. Heelshire has a very serious moment with Greta and tells her things are not always what they appear to the outside (or something like that). Its supposed to reassure her.In the study, Mrs. Heelshire says that music very important to Brahms. During all this, she holds and coddles the doll, which is off-putting to Greta. Mrs. Heelshire puts the needle on the record, and extremely loud operatic music plays. In the bedroom, Mrs. Heelshire tells her that Greta is to wake Brahms up at 7 am every day and to change him. She wants Greta to do it, but her movements are clumsy on account that its a doll.The family puts Brahms to bed. While Greta watches from the doorway, the Heelshires pray. Mrs. Heelshire turns to Greta and asks for privacy. Mr. Heelshire shuts the door on her. She can hear hushed talking from the two for a minute before the door abruptly opens. Mrs. Heelshire tells her with a tremulous smile, Brahms has chosen you.In her room, Greta talks to Sandy (a close friend or sister) from home. She explains the extremely creepy situation to her. Sandy agrees that it is weird but tells her to stick with it because Greta needs this second chance. This segues into Sandy saying that Cole stopped by her house again, demanding where Greta is. Greta panics a little but Sandy told her she didn't tell him anything. Obviously, someone from Greta's bad past.The next day, the Mr. Heelshire explains he and his wife are going away on a mini-vacation that they have wanted to go on for awhile, but couldn't since there wasn't a caregiver for Brahms. They tell Greta "it is very important that you follow these rules". They give Greta a printed schedule of activities to do throughout the day with Brahms, as well as the list of the rules.Some of them are:No guests (no boyfriends).
Don't cover his face.
Save meals in freezer.
Dress him each morning.
Never go in the attic.
Help with studies.
Never cover his face.
Read a bedtime story.
Play music loud.
Never leave him alone.
Clean the traps.
Don't forget to feed him.
Kiss goodnight.Before they go, Mrs. Heelshire hugs Greta and tears up, strangely whispering to her, "I'm sorry." As soon as they leave, Greta puts Brahms on a chair and apologizes before tossing a blanket over him.There is not much to do in the house, so Greta makes herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and pours some wine. She throws the food waste in the trash. She settles in the parlor to read some magazines. It starts pouring rain outside. She walks past the covered doll a few times when she refills her drink. She heads upstairs to go to bed and glances down the hall where the doll is, but this time, the blanket is off the doll. She's a bit unnerved and, annoyed at her reaction, roughly puts the doll in the bedroom and locks it.Greta goes to bed but wakes upon hearing what sounds like a child wailing. She takes a candle and goes downstairs to check it out. On the way, she stops to look at the portrait and focuses on Brahms's painted human face. She leans in close when an arm shoots out and reels her in.Greta wakes up in a sweat. It was just a nightmare. She hears the muted wailing noise again. She peers in the Brahms bedroom, and the doll is how she left it. She leans in close and sees the dolls cheek is wet, like tear tracks. Greta is officially freaked but notices water dripping on it from a ceiling leak. She laughs it off.She notices an attic in the ceiling when she goes out in the hallway and tries to open it with a large fire poker thing leaning against the wall but is unable to get the latch to come down. There's a knock on the door, and she leaves it be.It's Malcolm, apologizing and also bringing Greta's first week of pay in an envelope. She tells him she wishes he had warned her about the doll, but he tells her he doesn't even know how to explain it. They take a walk outside around the manor and Malcolm brings her to the actual Brahms' grave. He lived from 1983 to 1991. Malcolm says not much is known, but Brahms passed away during a fire on his 8th birthday. Soon after, the doll showed up, and Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire have been taking care of the doll this whole time. Greta feels immediate sympathy and notes that Brahms would be Malcolm's age had he lived. She says she can't believe that Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire have been living like this for 20 years. During all this, we get the impression that someone is watching them from the house.Malcolm invites her out of the house tonight to get away from the oppressive manor. Greta is unsure, stating she just got out of a thing (Cole), but Malcolm talks her into it. She agrees and they part ways to meet up later.Later, Greta starts to get ready picking out clothing while talking to Sandy. Sandy is happy she's moving on and tells her she needs this (opportunity). Greta mentions the doll's backstory and Sandy tells her again that she needs the money, which is really generous. Sandy reminders Greta that one week's pay is more than what Sandy makes in a week. Sandy also mentions Cole again and how persistent he is being. Sandy reveals that Cole asked Sandy's 10-year-old son where Greta is so he can write and apologize, and her kid told Cole where Greta is in the UK. Sandy apologizes, but Greta assures her she will not read anything from Cole. In Brahmss room, we are focused on his porcelain face, and we realize he can hear everything as there is a system set up where the sound is amplified in his room so the doll can hear EVERYTHING.Greta is starting to get excited about going out. She sets a coral dress aside in the bathroom along with her necklace before stepping into the shower. As she showers, something removes the dress and pulls the necklace away. Greta gets out, wraps a towel around herself and looks in the mirror. She notices that one end of her hair is a little shorn. Before she can freak out about it too much, she sees that her things are gone. She rushes into her bedroom to see all her drawers opened and all her clothes gone. She hears something and spins around. The attic is open, and the stairs are down. She takes the fire poker thing resting on the side and goes up, clutching her towel. As soon as she makes it past, the ladder lurches up and the attic slams shut. She is unable to open it.She hears Malcolm's car pulling up and tries to get his attention. However, she is so far up he cannot hear her. She tries to make noise by banging the iron poker against the walls, but its far too muted for him to hear. She can barely see him through the thick wooden boards (remember every window is pretty covered up or shut). She keeps trying until he leaves. Dejectedly, she looks around a little in the dark before a figure pops up at her. She is so startled she falls back and knocks herself out. In the morning, Greta wakes. She goes around and sees that the figure that startled her was just a suit that is hanging against the wall. She also sees that the ladder is down and the door open.She calls Malcolm over to comb over the house. He looks at the attic stairs, and he barely touches it before it snaps upward and closes. He figures that's how she got trapped up there. They spend some time together and play some pool. They go to the study to talk where she asks more about what Brahms was like. Malcolm isn't entirely comfortable and tells Greta that there is people talk and pub talk and that the truth is somewhere in between.The people version is that Brahms was a very nice lad. The pub version is that Brahms was very, very off. Malcolm tells Greta about how one time he came over, it was actually Brahmss birthday. Mrs. Heelshire was opening presents with the Brahms doll while Mr. Heelshire was in the study, drinking heavily. Malcolm was heading to leave when Mr. Heelshire begs company with Malcolm. Mr. Heelshire was muttering about how he cant go on like this anymore (the doll thing). Malcolm took the opportunity to ask what Brahms, the actual Brahms, was like and Mr. Heelshire just replied with, odd.Malcolm wants her to leave again, but Greta assures him she is ok. He leaves for the night, and she heads to bed. She calls Sandy again and leaves a message for her to send more magazines or anything over as there's no internet, or TV or barely anything electronic in the manor. She hangs up, and the phone rings again immediately. Thinking it's Sandy calling back, she picks up instantly but just hears breathing. She hangs up, unnerved.The next day she goes through the motions and notices the doll in bed where she has left it all that time. The list of things that she's supposed to do daily with Brahms lays nearby. The phone suddenly rings outside, and when she answers it, she hears the same breathing. This time, there's a small tinny voice, like a child, calling her name and asking her to play. She starts crying and screaming, asking who this is! She hears footsteps and runs to her room and locks it. From the bottom of the floor, we see the porcelain feet walking across. Greta watches hysterically as she hears Brahms, asking her to come out. She sees something being placed down and after a while goes outside and sees it is a tray with a PB+J sandwich. She picks its up and starts laughing/crying hysterically. She looks across the Brahms' open room, where the doll now sits on a bed, facing her. She goes to the door and stares at it, and then looks at the list, now knowing what Brahms wants.Over the next couple of days, she takes care of Brahms. She talks to him and makes food for him (throwing it as instructed in the container). She plays his music and pretty much follows the list.We cut to the Heelshires on their trip. Mrs. Heelshire is writing a note to Brahms, apologizing for them leaving him. At the bottom of the letter, it says the girl is yours now. They head to a coastline, picking up rocks and putting it in their pockets. They walk, hand-in-hand, drowning themselves.One day, Malcolm comes over earlier than usual to deliver the food to check up on her. He notices the doll sitting at the table with them. He asks her out again and Greta glances over at the doll, thinking she better not. Malcolm takes it in stride and takes Brahms' hand and asks to take Greta out, also playing Brahms' approval in reply. Greta just looks and is not comfortable. She then starts to tell him that Brahms is HERE here. Malcolm doesn't believe her, and she takes him upstairs.Apparently, Greta has been experimenting. She places the doll in a sitting position on the ground in Brahms' room. She takes some chalk and erases her previous lines. She draws a rough outline around the doll. They head back to her room, and Malcolm still thinks its crazy. She says she got the idea from when he mentioned how Brahms in real life was extremely shy. So the doll will only move behind closed doors or out of sight. They wait a few beats. Greta knocks on the wall, and they go back to Brahms' room. The doll is exactly as she left it. Malcolm tells her its okay; he believes her.Greta wants to try one more time. She hugs the doll and tells him that she needs Malcolm to see it, so she will not be alone. She also says that she would have to go if he doesn't move and that she needs Brahms to do this for her. They go back to her room, and when they head back, the doll is gone. Malcolm is shocked.Greta is ecstatic that someone else is experiencing this and that she's not crazy. She hugs him elatedly, and they almost have a moment when she spots Brahms creepily staring at them from behind the door. She picks Brahms up and praises him for a job well down.Greta and Malcolm walk outside the grounds and have a talk. They figure it must be a spirit in the doll. Malcolm is still a bit creeped, but Greta mentions that she understands the Heelshires more. She explains her past and her long relationship with Cole, who was sometimes abusive. She became pregnant but lost her baby when Cole got violent with her. So she can relate to the Heelshires because they lost a baby too. Malcolm comforts her, and they kiss. They go back inside to her room. Someone is watching from the keyhole. They start to undress when they hear the loud opera music, interrupting them.They go downstairs and find the doll in the study. Greta figures he is not happy and puts him back to bed. Malcolm is unnerved. He talks to Greta about something 20 years ago that he held back because he didn't want to scare her. There was a girl that would play with Brahms every week. On the day of his death, the girl went missing while they were playing. Afterward, the house burned up, and Brahms died. They later found the girl's body in the woods, her skull completely crushed in. Malcolm isn't completely sure if the doll is holding a good guy ghost spirit. Greta knows Brahms wouldn't hurt her. She asks Malcolm go home for now (remember the No Guest rule?). While Greta puts Brahms to bed, she whispers, "You wouldn't hurt me, would you Brahms?"The next morning, Greta is making breakfast when she hears the billiard balls clacking from the study. She picks up Brahms and heads over, thinking its Malcolm. Its Cole! Greta tells him he shouldn't be here. He chides that he just wants to say hi to the kid. Greta clutches Brahms to her protectively, and Cole realizes its a doll and laughs. Greta admits that they pay her to take care of a doll. She makes dinner and seats Brahms with them. Cole talks about how he found her a job back home. He keeps trailing off by the doll's stare on him.Malcolm comes by, and he and Cole have a mini-standoff. Malcolm peels her away by asking her to look at the groceries. They talk about Cole, who should not stay here, as he will hurt her. Greta denies either would happen and tells him she will take care of it. Malcolm gives a curt goodbye to Cole and leaves. He doesn't leave, but parks outside a ways and keeps watch.Greta brings blankets and pillows for him which Cole takes to mean he won't be sleeping in her bed. Before she leaves, Cole holds her painfully and tells her hes not letting her go again. He expects her packed by the morning and that they are leaving. Greta tears up and leaves.Greta puts Brahms to bed, hugging him. She whispers tearfully that she needs his help before she goes to bed and falls asleep. Cole wakes in the middle of the night to blood dripping on his head. He wakes up and yells for Greta. She comes downstairs and sees a bunch of the rat carcasses from the traps and a bloody message written on the walls above that says 'Get Out'.Cole thinks Greta did it, which she vehemently denies it. They then spot the doll in the corner, and she runs to him, saying "Brahms! What did you do?!"Cole is angry and grabs the doll. Greta backtracks and now tries to tell Cole it was her that did it. Cole seems to believe the doll had something to do with it, especially because hes been creeped out by it from the start. Malcolm hears the commotion and runs in to see what is going on. He sees Cole waving the doll around. Greta is frantic, and they both try to grab the doll away from Cole.Cole eventually smashes the doll into the ground on purpose, shattering it into pieces. Immediately, the walls start shaking and the house starts "groaning". All three of them begin to panic. Malcolm wants to leave, but Cole shushes him. Cole puts his ear against a mirror on the wall, following the noise as it quiets.Suddenly, the mirror shatters and something bursts from the walls. It is a huge figure with a porcelain mask over his face. The figure immediately goes for knocked down Cole. Malcolm and Greta try to stop it, but the figure knocks them both aside and stabs Cole in the neck with a shard from the broken doll. Greta tries to get Malcolm back up, and the figure starts to go after them.Greta and Malcolm head to the front door, which is blocked off by the figure. He is finding quicker routes to possible escape routes. They run upstairs to hide in her room, locking the door. The figure stands at the doorway. Greta finds a panel in the wall, and they both go through a pathway in the walls. Greta finds some stairs that lead up and into some small room beside the attic. It is OLD and has a fridge and very rough living accommodations. There's a patchwork, lifesize figure on the bed which is a fabric doll wearing Greta's missing coral dress, along with her jewelry and the head has her shorn locks attached to it.We now realize the truth, which is that Brahms never died. He's psychotic (probably since even before murdering the girl). He has been living in the walls for 20 years, and Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire has been enabling everything in order to keep their son. They used to interact with him through the doll.Greta finds the letter written by Mrs. Heelshire and realizes that they were leaving her to take care of him forever. She is hysterical, realizing the adult Brahms was watching her every movement while Malcolm keeps trying to find another path out. He finds one, and has Greta go through first while Brahms bursts through. There's a part where they have crawled through, but there's a hatch that leads outside! Brahms follows through, holding a bigger shard in his hand and Malcolm tells Greta to move on. Greta doesn't want to leave him, but he runs at Brahms to hold him off. Brahms is huge and overpowers Malcolm. He smashes his fist in Malcolm's head, and Malcolm is knocked out. Brahms heads towards Greta, telling her in a small child voice for her to stay. She finally gets it open and leaps through. Brahms can't catch up due to the part where he has to crawl and screams after her that if she doesn't stay he will finish off Malcolm and kill him like he did everyone else!Greta runs and makes it towards the gates before she stops and turns back. She is facing her abuser, and she wants to save Malcolm. She heads to the door and pockets a long letter opener she finds. She goes towards Cole's dead body where Brahms is standing. The mask completely covers his face except his eyes and large tufts of facial hair is visible around it.Greta tells Brahms she told him she would come back and she would never leave, so she is keeping her promise. Brahms reaches for her and Greta stops him still when she uses her nanny voice, telling Brahms its time for bed. It triggers something in him, and he follows obediently. She puts him in bed, and he whispers, Kiss but she retreats, saying "no kiss" as his punishment. She pulls away, and he grabs her and says kiss again, a bit more forcibly. She haltingly presses her lips to the porcelain mask and Brahms starts to pull her closer. She takes the letter opener and stabs Brahms in the stomach. He recoils and throws her off him on the wall. He immediately starts to strangle her and Greta almost passes out, but she manages to grip the letter opener and push it in more. Brahms collapses, and Greta runs past him to the hidden pathways to see if Malcolm is okay. Part of Brahms mask is shattered, and we see the burned skin underneath.Malcolm is alive and wakes with some large contusions on his face. She gets him out of there, and they drive off from Heelshire manor.The final shot cuts to someone painstakingly piecing the doll back together. Brahms is still alive, presumably. He then looks into the camera, whole - as if none of this ever happened.The End

Review: Most horrors are standard genre films that rely on cinema clichés to frighten us and audiences have become immune to plots with spooky dolls, isolated nannies and scary mansions.
Poor Brahms becomes the unwanted child in some high-tension scenes but predictably the doll gets its revenge.Although not a great fan of horrors, this one kept me engaged until the final quarter where a tired old stock-standard formula is used to tie the narrative ends together.
I give it an 9 stars because the end kind of sets it up for a sequel, but hey, the rest of "The Boy" is beautifully stylized and paced similar to the spooky, suspenseful and disturbing '60's British made thrillers like Betty Davis' "The Nanny"and Debra Kerr's "The Innocents" only with an added surprise ending and faster pace.From the trailer this movie is not what you think it is and not one of your run of the mill "Child's Play" Chucky doll revenge type '80's flicks.
I sort of knew this going in just from the fact smart actors such as Lauren Cohan rarely make bad decisions on movie choices such as this and by god she makes it all believable just as she does in "Walking Dead".This is a very maturely written, photographed and acted movie reminding me of a really good Twilight Zone episode that gradually unfolds revealing the layers of mystery in this case on the reasons for why an elderly couple would be caring for a life size boy doll which is disturbing on its own right from the get go.There'll be more questions than answers as the movie progresses where the end will allow the viewer to fill in the blanks with an implied causality from connecting the dots looking back which is the best way to write a movie and view it.
But you'll soon find out that insanity is only one possible explanation for the unusual behavior of various characters and the many strange happenings throughout this very entertaining film.Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan) is a young Montana woman (around 30) who is restarting her life.
This film skillfully blends some elements of earlier horror movies like "The Shining" (1980), "Child's Play" (1988) and "The Others" (2001), but has a fresh and even more modern feel to it.
so obviously a great concept that feels like it's been tampered with by studio committees and producer interference to dumb it down to certain level that can only be described as "lowest common denominator." At times I could even swear that the film feels like it was the product of two or three different scripts that were haphazardly mushed together in a last- ditch effort to try and make it more of a broadly-appealing (aka "generic") thriller than a unique spine- tingler.The film follows Greta (the adorable Lauren Cohan), an American woman who has been hired to act as nanny for a prim and proper older couple's child overseas in the UK.
But when she begins to stray and ignore the rules set for her, strange things begin to happen, and it becomes all too clear that the doll might just be more "real" and "alive" than she could have imagined.The film works for the most part mainly due to the charm of the two lead cast-members, and for the well-executed visual storytelling.Cohan is a lot of fun as our lead, and she's a great choice for the role of Greta...
Even though I never heard of anyone who acted in this film, I think they did an amazing job delivering, and making the movie more intense and entertaining.
I watch a lot of horrors, I've rated about 800 so far (and probably seen about 300 more at the very least).And although this is not one of the better horrors I've seen I'd say it's still definitely above average.It's a mystery so I can't really talk too much about the movie without hinting at spoilers and such so I'll keep that to a minimum.It's basically a creepy doll movie but not overly silly made like for instance 'DEAD SILENCE (2007)' or a slasher-doll movie like the Chucky- movies it takes it's time to develop and keeps the mystery going for quite some time, which makes it feel a bit like a psychological thriller and keeps us wondering what's going on and what's next.Lauren Cohan who plays Maggie in the TV-series 'The Walking Dead' handles the lead well, and the cinematography is stunning.So yeah if you're looking for a new horror movie to watch this is a valid choice..
The Boy (2016) had a simple thriller vibe going on, it wasn't great but it wasn't bad either then all of a sudden they through in the "let's hurry and destroy a movie" vibe and well the end.If you watch The Boy (2016), watch your clock and once it hits 1 hour turn the film off to leave with a feeling that you watched something fairly done, the ending made us wish we'd never have watch it..
I will begin by saying this movie set a high standard for horror films for the year 2016, truly a thought provoking film which keeps the viewer hooked on the screen from start to finish.The trailer basically outlines the plot of the movie, in which an American women gets a job at babysitting a boy, with a desirable pay as well, however she is shocked to see that the boy is a doll and the parents of the boy have every reason to believe that the boy is alive and as seen in the trailer a chore list is made for the nanny and is strictly ordered to follow the rules, but like any other sane person would do she ignores the list and that's when the plot really starts to get interesting.Not to spoil the movie but the plot twist towards the end is probably in my opinion the high point of the film in which the viewers' jaws drop.over all an excellent movie, with great character development, great acting, clever cinematography and stays away from the common horror cliché's, truly a film worth watching alone or with a friend.I rate it 7.5.
For me, The Boy is a perfect example, so I'll make sure to separate my personal opinions from what I perceive to be the makings of a fine Horror film.I've always been a big fan of the Supernatural sub-genre, with a special liking to films portraying evil dolls (films like Dead Silence or Annabelle, NOT Chucky).
Even still the ending is exciting and surprising but very short lived.Over all "The Boy" is a lackluster movie sure to NOT BE the next classic horror film of this century..
Cohan performance is uneven, the first hour is tortuous and tense and fails her fully know what happens , unfortunately like all horror movies today , the real excitement starts in the last half hour where the film takes a turn I look that even innovative and irreproachable, also feels like a disappointment..
I do not want to spend much time giving this sad excuse for a movie a review however, I would like to encourage anyone thinking of seeing this "horror /thriller" to reconsider.
No Confidence in the "Real Life" Scenes, that should be a Clue.Because the Film is as Lifeless as "Brahms" the Porcelain "Boy" with the Actors showing about as much Expression and Concern to what is Happening with Blank Looks and barely a Raised Eyebrow with the Dialog mostly in Monotone with Mid-Range Volume Throughout.The Movie Plays Out from Here to There but is Hardly Playful.
The film stars Lauren Cohan and Rupert Evans.Plot: Greta is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family's 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior.
After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta's worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.Plus Points: 1)Plot: Movie's plot has enough potential to scare audience.A plot which involves dolls are regular but babysitting a doll is awesome.Trailer of the movie itself raises expectations.2)Acting: Acting by actors is decent without flaws.Minus Points: 1)Climax: Climax of the movie is not at all satisfying.It got a twist but bit forced.2)Screenplay: Screenplay is not interesting but has few scary scenes.Movie does not satisfy our urge for horror.So The Boy is horror movie with great plot but average execution6/10.
I went to see a horror movie but instead feel like I watched a drama or thriller that contained little to no real suspense.
Instead of taking care of a real child she is paid to look after a life-like doll and pretty soon she begins to think that it's actually alive.I must admit that I'm a little surprised that THE BOY has gotten so many positive reviews because I found it to be rather lame in most spots.
I think there's a great movie here but sadly it is buried behind a bunch of cheap and rather annoying jump scares that are never actually scary.There are moments in the film where it actually works and this is when there's more of a psychological nature where we really don't know if the doll is alive or if perhaps the nanny is just losing her mind.
The Boy is a story about an American babysitter who takes a job in England for an old couple with a son who turns out to actually be a doll.
As strange things begin to happen in the house our heroine, played by Lauren Cohan, starts to believe that the doll may have a life of its own.The film attempts to create an atmosphere of suspense but frankly I found it far more funny than scary.
It stars Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, and James Russell.An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll.
After violating a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.I truly loved The Boy. This was one of the funniest and most original movies I have ever seen.
The Boy is a combination of all those variants, and even though the quality of the mixture occasionally fluctuates, I found it entertaining thanks to William Brent Bell's efficient direction and the competent performances from the whole cast, starting by Lauren Cohan in the leading role; her character isn't very well written, and she's assigned a turbulent past which will unavoidably come back in order to terrify her in the most absurd way.
Regarding the "horror", The Boy achieves good moments of tension, but the final twist is too predictable, something which decreases the impact of the whole story.
But if it's the other way around, don't waste your 90 minutes to watch this movie unless if it's for that hottie woman in The Walking Dead.The first 10 minutes was pretty engaging but nevertheless, it just went down the hill just until the climax scene appeared.The final scene came back with a good plot twist.
Usually, this kind of a movie is predictable and the story begins or let's say first third of the film, I though I knew what was going to happen next and it kinda did, but I could not really imagine the end of the film , so when the twist occurred, I was surprised positively.The whole boy/doll thing was interesting and kinda creepy.
Even though there are some scares and some killings, they are 'less horror and bloody' than million others in dramas and thrillers.Although the twist towards the end is a big plus, as I did not see it coming, the very end of the film is kinda a bit of a let down as I expected that the boy story be explained...
The Boy is a film directed by William brent bell and it is a decent horror film that has a lot of nerving mystery to it.An American nanny {Lauren Cohn} comes to an old home in England to care for a 8 year old boy who turns out to be a life-sized doll, When she breaks several of the rules given to her horrific things begin to happen.The direction by William brent bell is done well and he brings a lot of tension and mystery to the film, Lauren Cohn and Rupert Evans deliver decent performances, The great thing about this film is it is more heavy on mystery than mindless jump scares and gory violence.Overall the boy is much better than I thought it was going to be and it proves that decent horror films can still be made.
& Mrs. Heelshire, to take care of their child, while they are on holiday, at their isolated English mansion; but the premise of William Brent Bell's (The Devil Inside, Stay Alive) new horror film, The Boy, is not entirely that straightforward.
However, my buzz deflated a few scenes into The Boy due to its lack of suspense, leaving us nothing to anticipate, instead we watch a catalogue of second-hand genre banality.Greta originally does not treat Brahms like a human-being.
The movie was not awful like other early year horror movie, and makes some good and some bad choices in its direction and storytelling.On the positive side, there is a creepy enough atmosphere in the movie and it does succeed to create genuine suspense.
If you read a few of the other IMDb reviews you may be confused about whether this film is a quality production, let alone if it is a "good" horror movie.
"The boy" is a thriller-horror movie about an American nanny who has to take care of doll whose owner treats it like their son and claims that it is really alive.Well, idea of movie was a little different but there was something missing in screenplay.Maybe it was horror content as there were not many frightening scenes.There's a nice twist in the end of the movie but even it was also not able to save movie completely because I have seen that in another movie also whose name I can't reveal.I feel that story and screenplay could have been better.But in spite of all these limitations,The Boy is nice movie but don't watch it with higher expectations(especially as a horror movie).Overall I give it 7/10..
Now, I do watch and like "The Walking Dead" quite a lot, but I just wasn't particularly thrilled that it was Lauren Cohan that was in the lead role, because she is not a particularly good actress in my opinion."The Boy" sure did have a good story, right up until the reveal of what is really going on.
The idea of a posh and bratty English lad reincarnated in a large porcelain doll is unsettling, and director William Brent Bell mounts the atmosphere and tension quite professionally, through a steadily slow pacing, good use of the old house filming location, hinting at the tragic events that overcame the real boy Brahms and the wise decision never to animate the doll or make it move individually.
The Boy is a thriller-horror movie that was released in 2015; a young American nanny travels to England to escape her past and babysit a young couple's son whilst they go on holiday - only for the son to be a doll.
Continuing on from the usual paranormal activity, that isn't really original in the doll horror genre, everything gets turned on it's head when the plot is twisted, and the film becomes even more terrifying, just for the more realist aspect of it.
Although I have no idea how she kept her cool, having to act most of the scenes with a doll - I would have been in hysterics most of filming.The Boy was absolutely chilling, and I would recommend this to any horror lover..
oh boy, this movie totally changed my opinion on horror films.
The Boy (2016)I've done watching it.It's story about Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan) are paid to babysitting a doll named as Brahms.While she alone in the house with Brahms,she found something is wrong with Brahms.Nice thriller movie with some good jump scare.I thought the movie is just like another doll movie such Annabelle.But this movie is more than you expected.Lauren Cohan did it!
Very good film, recommended for anyone It keeps the suspense from beginning to end Great performance by Lauren Cohan.
over all an excellent movie, with great character development, great acting, clever cinematography and stays away from the common horror cliché's, truly a film worth watching alone or with friends.
The way the movie turned out ( the twist) was exactly how horror's from 2000 to maybe 2005 were like which was never my kind of taste (not going to give it away).
You may not like it but it's there to hit you when you least expect it For the different story and the least expected twist ever this is quite good.And I must say this is creepy little film where I found myself living in the scary home with the lead character.
Rated 7/10 for a good typical spooky doll thriller, with great acting throughout- however I didn't find this film scary which was slightly disappointing as I expected more jumpy scenes.
Throughout the film you will make see 3 jump scares at best, so do not watch this movie for the horror of it, there is none.
She is surprised that the child she is to take care of is not a real child but a doll, named Brahms.The Boy really for the most part is a wonderful treat for those who like spooky goings on but don't like psychological horrors where half of the film is just about investigating the past.
For me it was just entertaining but I never had the horror feeling like I have whilst watching other movies in this genre.