Review: The Boy

January has long been known as a dumping ground for sub par horror films. For years studios have released their less than desirable fright flicks in the first month of the year, I am not certain why or when this practice became a thing, I only know that it exists. This month already saw the release of "The Forest" a film that had some promise in it's strong lead and premise, failed to deliver a satisfactory horror experience and make any real noise while being quickly forgotten. So when I initially saw the trailer for Lauren Cohan's (Maggie from the Walking Dead) horror film "The Boy" I was intrigued but also very wary given the release date. Still, I am forever a sucker for a creepy doll movie, and even though I was most recently disappointed (though that disappointment was not unexpected) by the snoozefest that was Annabelle (still can't believe that movie made 256 million dollars worldwide), I was kind of excited to watch this.

The Boy revolves around the simple story of a young American woman named Greta (yes... Greta) who moves to the UK to become a nanny for the son of a stuffy old rich couple who are leaving him to go on a trip. No big deal, except there "son" Brahms is actually a large creepy porcelain doll who loves to stare at things. The reasoning behind Brahms existence and the parents strange practices revolving around it are part of the mystery. Eventually as they should when a creepy doll is involved, things get weird.

One thing about creepy doll movies is you need to really have two things going for you to make them work. The first is you need to find ways to make an inanimate object repeatedly scary or creepy and find different ways to present it to the audience to keep them from getting bored with the blank stare a doll will have. The second is you need to have a great story as to why the doll is evil or alive. Does the Boy succeed on these fronts? Yes and no.

The Boy features a solid cast who lend credence to a admittedly silly but promising premise. Lauren Cohan delivers a well balanced performance that rarely has you questioning her decision making process which helps with the suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy a film like this. Co Star Rupert Evans also brings a likability to his role as the well meaning Malcolm. Still The Boy is a horror film and there are horror bits here that will equally satisfy and frustrate the avid horror fan. For each solid creep out moment found within, there is one that will have a horror fan rolling there eyes due to the cliche'd nature of the scare. The film would have been better served to push the envelope and commit in areas and scenes that turn out to be cheap and telegraphed dream fake outs. The landscape of January horror is littered with the corpses of films that have relied on this tired dream scare tactic. These scenes would have have been far more effective had the filmmakers figured out a way to get them to actually be REAL within the context of the story. The "character" of Brahms the boy doll is a great design that while not outright creepy like say Annabelle, still has enough of an odd look to deliver an eerie presence whenever on screen so in that regard yes it does succeed as a "Doll horror film".

I have come to realize The Boy is turning out to be a difficult film for me to review in depth as I found it a mostly enjoyable watch, and while sitting in the theater I was thinking mostly positively about it, but after processing it, I came to focus on it's flaws a bit more. The third act is where the film will either make or break it to most viewers. While I still liked what was done here and was kind of surprised at a reveal, there was absolutely no way I could overlook the fact that it was essentially the same reveal as another recent horror film which I can't name because it would spoil the entire film for you, and that it lifted a piece of it's climax from another horror film that all horror fans will find familiar. This is puzzling and you have to wonder if it was done knowingly or not. So in regards to the dolls backstory and does the film succeed? I would say yes but also no because of it being a rehash of another film in a sense.

It may sound like I did not enjoy the film after all since I just finished pointing out it's flaws, still thats not the case. I did dig it for what it was and I feel that while it isn't some new benchmark in horror, it still is a decent watch thanks to it's cast. It won't surprise the more hardcore or seasoned horror fans with it's scare tactics, but it must be said that at the preview screening I attended, the crowd which was comprised of mostly teenage girls who (undoubtedly lured there more so by the marketing teams promise of meeting some local teen youtube singer than their desire to witness a great horror film) were all screaming and jumping throughout. As I exited the theater most of them seemed to have enjoyed it and were talking rather positive about it. So perhaps this film does have an audience out there beyond the die hard horror fans and that is okay too. Horror fans are very fickle and their interests and tastes can at times be baffling even to other horror fans so you may never know what one will end up liking. As a fan of creepy doll movies it did enough right for me to give it a positive review but I can totally understand if someone does not. I think The Boy is a film that is certainly worth a look even if it may not be a film you come back to again and again, it might be one that is a fun spooky watch on a lazy night. Sometimes that is all you want out of a horror film, and more than you can usually expect from one in January.