Movie Info
Movie Name: The Boy
Studio: Lakeshore Entertainment
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): January 22, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG-13
I’m just a boy…The Boy some might even say
After breaking up with an abusive boyfriend, Greta (Lauren Cohan) finds the job of her life. She’s been hired by an eccentric couple called the Heelshires to take care of their son Brahms while they are on vacation…but Brahms is only a doll. Learning from the food delivery man Malcolm (Rupert Evans) that the real Brahms was killed as a child, Greta finds breaking the Heelshires’ rules about her care of Brahms could be dangerous…and Brahms might not be as lifeless as she thought.
Directed by William Brent Bell, The Boy is a horror-thriller. The movie was originally entitled The Inhabitant and released to mixed to negative reviews. The relatively low budget film had a modest success at the box office.
Creepy doll movies are always a high point for me. From Child’s Play to Trilogy of Terror to Night Gallery’s “The Doll”, a creepy doll can always scare. I looked forward to The Boy for this reason but even from the trailers, I could tell it was a bit of a stinker. Due to the type of the movie, a *****Spoiler Alert***** will be in effect for the rest of the review.
Brahms, if you don’t eat your food, you don’t get dessert!
The plot is pretty ridiculous. When Greta arrives at the house and shown Brahms, instead of walking out of asking “Am I being punked?”, she accepts the job. Granted, she doesn’t follow the rules at first and things get weird, but she still does it (due to her tragic past…which was delivered in a weepy story). For a movie about a creepy doll that can move on its own, there aren’t enough creepy moments involving Brahms.
The movie’s plot is based on a twist…a twist you can see coming from a mile away. Early on, Greta discovers she can’t open the attic and then things start moving around. It is revealed that the real Brahms is alive and has been living in the walls. He moves the doll, eats the food, and listens to the music. It isn’t a surprise or particularly scary.
Saw this coming…
I like Lauren Cohan in The Walking Dead, and she continues to be likable in the ridiculous movie. The rest of the cast is rather bland and I’m surprised they didn’t cast a potentially bigger star for the romantic leads just to boost up the movie.
The Boy did pick a creepy doll. The Brahms doll has a weird lifelike trait to it and the eyes are pretty haunting. That makes the movie all the more disappointing in that a creepy doll was wasted. The adult Brahms costume is also good, but it is too little too late.
The Boy is a pretty disappointing horror-thriller. Time after time, horror doll movies fall apart because the makers forget what make them scary. The Boy is no different in that sense. A horror movie that isn’t horrific or scary is a rather big waste of time. The Boy was followed by Brahms: The Boy II in 2020.
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