The Boy (2016)
2016
PG-13
97 Minutes
A nanny, working for a family whose son has just passed away, finds herself put in charge of caring for a lifelike doll that the couple treat as a real child.
User Review
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The Boy did so well to sustain suspense, only for it to fall apart in its final act. The ending to a film is the most important segment, it's the last thing you remember. It seems as of late that a trend has circulated, particularly in horror thrillers, for unnecessary plot twists. The Boy unfortunately succumbs to that fatal error. Essentially, an American girl moves to England for her new job as a nanny. Unbeknown to her, she is caring a doll that the parents believe is their real son Brahms. She must follows the rules precisely because if she doesn't...well, little Brahms may not be happy. What an interesting plot this was! Not entirely original, but creepy films about creepy dolls being creepy are so damn infrequent these days that it actually felt refreshing. The first two acts were splendid. Plenty of dark lighting to create the moody atmosphere as our protagonist wanders around a humongous mansion...alone. Very well paced, slowly placing breadcrumbs to feed our minds with intrigue. Is the doll possessed? Is the doll actually a real boy? Why on earth is it made out of ceramics!? These people need to shop in IKEA. Plastic is the way forward. Anyway, all was going so well and then...we enter the third act. Why oh why oh why did they think the twist was a good idea? We've now changed sub-genres from the supernatural to...well I can't say without spoiling it but if you watch it, you'll know what I mean. All the mystery, the intrigue, the damn captivation...gone. Instantly. Diminished like it was someone picking gum off of their shoe. Look, I can see why they did it, and theoretically, in a far-fetched way, plausible. But no, no, noooo. Didn't work for me I'm afraid. The acting was serviceable though, I mean Lauren Cohan and Rupert Evans were good. Although, there is no way she could've wrapped a towel round her and walk up steep ladders into the attic, be trapped there all night, come down and STILL have that towel wrapped. I smell lies. Overall, a well directed thriller with a few jump scares and an intriguing premise that is utterly decimated by its third act.0 member like this review.
