Boy Kills World

Boy Kills World is a 2023 action comedy-thriller film directed by Moritz Mohr, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith and Arend Remmers, based on a story by Remmers and Mohr. The film stars Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Famke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, and Andrew Koji. Its plot revolves around a campaign of vengeance enacted by a martial arts expert, rendered deaf-mute by an attack that killed his entire family, whose thoughts are presented as an inner voice derived from a childhood video game (provided by H. Jon Benjamin).
Boy Kills World premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in the United States by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on April 26, 2024.
== Plot ==
Boy, a young child, lives in a dystopian city with his mother and younger sister Mina. Boy and Mina often play arcade games and draw illustrations of their future. The city is ruled by the Van Der Koy family, consisting of Gideon, Melanie, Melanie's husband Glen and the head of the family - Hilda Van Der Koy. Once a year, Hilda gathers 12 people from the city to participate in The Culling, an event where all twelve are killed on live television. In preparation, Hilda gathers Boy, Mina and their mother and shoots Mina and their mother, killing them, but leaving Boy for dead, having made him deaf and mute. An unnamed Shaman finds Boy and nurses him back to health. 
Years later, Boy has fully grown and continues training with the Shaman in the hopes of exacting revenge against the Van Der Koys and constantly hallucinates Mina. While heading into the city to sell flowers, Boy sees Glen and Gideon arrive to round up the victims for that year's Culling. After being heckled by a woman in the crowd, Glen accidentally shoots a civilian, triggering a civilian massacre at the hands of June 27, Van Der Koy's enforcer. Boy follows them in the trunk of Gideon's car to a warehouse, where he is attacked by Glen and several of his men. Boy kills the men and befriends a captive named Basho, who he interrogates Glen with. Glen reveals that Hilda hosts a party before The Culling every year and offers to help them, but is killed when Basho accidentally drops a bench press he is holding onto his head. 
Basho takes Boy to meet the Resistance, but discovers that everybody has been killed by the Van Der Koys except one member named Benny. The three sneak into the manor and Boy makes his way to Hilda's dining room, where he unwittingly decapitates a decoy of Hilda. June 27 fights, defeats and captures Boy. Gideon reveals that he wishes to help Boy; Hilda has created The Culling to protect herself from the Shaman, but has been living in a bunker for years, mindlessly killing innocents even though all of the criminals have been wiped out. 
Basho takes Boy to meet the Resistance, but discovers that everybody has been killed by the Van Der Koys except one member named Benny. The three sneak into the manor and Boy makes his way to Hilda's dining room, where he unwittingly decapitates a decoy of Hilda. June 27 fights, defeats and captures Boy. Gideon reveals that he wishes to help Boy; Hilda has created The Culling to protect herself from the Shaman, but has been living in a bunker for years, mindlessly killing innocents even though all of the criminals have been wiped out. 
Melanie takes Boy to The Culling and Boy uses a scalpel given to him by Gideon in secret to free himself, reuniting with Basho and Benny, who had sneaked into The Culling. A large battle ensues, during which Benny sacrifices himself to protect Boy from Melanie and Basho is mortally wounded. Boy executes Melanie and makes his way to Hilda's bunker together with Basho, where Boy is so focused on killing the guards that he misses Basho succumbing to his bullet wounds. Boy discovers Gideon, having been shot by Melanie, who gives him a key card to the elevator down to the bunker. The hallucination of Mina begs Boy not to kill Gideon, but Boy executes him, causing the hallucination to disappear. 
In the elevator, Hilda confronts Boy through a camera and microphone. Boy shows Hilda a drawing drawn by Mina, horrifying her into ordering the guards outside to stand down. June 27 takes Boy to Hilda, where Boy spies paintings of the Van Der Koy, which include him and Mina. Hilda reveals that Boy is her son, having actively participated in killing dissidents, which included the Shaman's entire family. However, Boy refused to shoot the Shaman and fled; the Shaman captured him, mutilated him, and used LSD and psychological torture to warp his mind, making him believe that Hilda killed his family. In reality, Boy has been killing his real family, while June 27 is revealed to be Mina, who is still alive. 
In shock, Boy cannot give Hilda any signs of affection and she orders June 27/Mina to kill him only for her to stab Hilda in the head with one of her hatchets. Reuniting with his sister, Boy and June 27 battle their way through the remaining guards before being confronted by the Shaman. The three have a lengthy and brutal fight before Boy manages to force the Shaman's sharpened necklace into the Shaman's neck, slitting his throat and killing him. Boy and Mina, both bleeding profusely, exit the bunker as they make way to their new future. A flashback shows the two playing the arcade game, where the voice announces Player 2 Has Entered the Game. 
== Cast ==
== Production ==
Director and story writer Moritz Mohr pitched Boy Kills World with a short and previsualization reel to Sam Raimi and Roy Lee, of Raimi Productions and Vertigo Entertainment respectively, who were impressed and subsequently agreed to produce alongside Nthibah Pictures and Hammerstone Studios. Orion Pictures was initially involved at one point, but dropped out following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film was announced on October 7, 2021, with Bill Skarsgård, Samara Weaving, and Yayan Ruhian joining the cast. In a statement, Nthibah CEO Simon Swart said the film would combine "real-world themes with a stylized look that is fresh, cool, and original, borrowing from the best of graphic novels." On October 28, 2021, Isaiah Mustafa joined the cast. In January 2022, Andrew Koji was added to the cast, and Jessica Rothe replaced Samara Weaving, who dropped out of project due to scheduling conflicts. Filming began in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 14, 2022. In March 2022, Famke Janssen, Brett Gelman, Sharlto Copley, Quinn Copeland, twins Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti, and Michelle Dockery were confirmed to star.
In August 2023, Swedish composer Ludvig Forssell was announced to compose the film's soundtrack.
== Release ==
The world premiere for Boy Kills World was held at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2023.
In January 2024, Lionsgate Films and Roadside Attractions acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film and set it for an April 26, 2024 theatrical release.
== Reception ==
===Box office ===
In the United States and Canada, Boy Kills World was released alongside Unsung Hero and Challengers, and is projected to gross $2–3 million in its opening weekend. The film made $819,000 on its first day, including $500,000 from preview screenings. It went on to debut to $1.6 million.
== Critical response ==
 Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 71% overall positive score, with 50% saying they would definitely recommend it.
== External links ==
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== References ==
Category:2023 films
Category:Films starring Bill Skarsgård
Category:Films starring Nicholas and Cameron Crovetti
Category:Films starring H. Jon Benjamin
Category:Films starring Jessica Rothe
Category:Films starring Michelle Dockery
Category:Films starring Brett Gelman
Category:Films starring Isaiah Mustafa
Category:Films starring Andrew Koji
Category:Films starring Famke Janssen
Category:Films starring Sharlto Copley
Category:Films starring Yayan Ruhian
Category:Films starring Quinn Copeland
Category:2023 action comedy films
Category:2023 action thriller films
Category:2023 directorial debut films
Category:2020s American films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:American action comedy films
Category:American action thriller films
Category:American films about revenge
Category:Features based on short films
Category:Films about deaf people
Category:Films about murder
Category:Films produced by Roy Lee
Category:Films produced by Sam Raimi
Category:Films set in jungles
Category:Films shot in South Africa
Category:Lionsgate films
Category:Roadside Attractions films
Category:Vertigo Entertainment films
Category:Films
Category:Pages containing Mature Content