The Boy

Name: The Boy
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Released: August 14, 2015
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 45

2015

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Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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5.6

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5.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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The Boy

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Movie Details & Credits

Chiller Films | Release Date: August 14, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: It’s the summer of 1989. 9-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The Mt. Vista Motel, a crumbling resort buried in the mountains of the American West. Since Ted's mother left, John has drifted into despondency—leaving Ted to fend for himself. In this isolation, unchecked by the bounds ofIt’s the summer of 1989. 9-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The Mt. Vista Motel, a crumbling resort buried in the mountains of the American West. Since Ted's mother left, John has drifted into despondency—leaving Ted to fend for himself. In this isolation, unchecked by the bounds of parenting, Ted’s darker impulses begin to manifest. The arrival of a mysterious drifter, William Colby (Rainn Wilson), captivates young Ted and the two form a unique friendship - setting the stage for Ted’s final, unnerving metamorphosis. [Chiller Films]… Expand

Director: Craig Macneill

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 105 min

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Aug 19, 2015

The scariest aspect of The Boy is the extent to which Macneill makes it possible to sympathize with the troubled protagonist — even as its haunting final shot hints at the horrors yet to come. Read full review

Devan Coggan

Aug 19, 2015

The film’s biggest flaw is that there’s never any doubt about where Ted is going to end up. Read full review

Andy Webster

Aug 20, 2015

The Boy, despite remarkable performances and gorgeous imagery, does not sufficiently flesh out its subject. Read full review

The Playlist Charlie Schmidlin

Aug 20, 2015

The seeds of a sequel sprout in the film’s lasting final shot, but perhaps with a look further into Ted’s future, a narrative to match the mood will emerge as well. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Aug 20, 2015

Featuring long stretches in which little is said or happens, the film never quite burrows into the viewer's skin in the way in which it was obviously intended. Read full review

Sherilyn Connelly

Aug 20, 2015

Craig William Macneill's The Boy tries so hard to be ominous that it nearly strains itself in the process. Read full review

Dennis Harvey

Aug 20, 2015

So little happens in The Boy, and so little suspense is effectively built around its central figure, that by the time things finally do heat up the movie has flatlined too completely for us to care. Read full review

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User Reviews

quincytheodore

Aug 20, 2015

The psychological origin of psycho, although it may be too slow for some.

Growing up without internet or video game is bad enough, but Ted has to live in a remote motel in the middle of nowhere. The premise of a child gradually becoming more bizarre in his nature is executed fairly well,The psychological origin of psycho, although it may be too slow for some.

Growing up without internet or video game is bad enough, but Ted has to live in a remote motel in the middle of nowhere. The premise of a child gradually becoming more bizarre in his nature is executed fairly well, it gives audience a clear view of how the isolation and what little interaction he has shapes his mind. However, with runtime almost two hours and majority of it is uneventful, this slow burner might not appeal to mainstream audience.

Thriller or horror nowadays is leaning towards faster pace developments. For example, Gone Girl delivers twists and turns frequently. The Boy is more of a slow burner, it portrays Ted and his strange mental process. Much of it is by his body language and others' influences. This keeps the audience guessing on his state of mind as the young boy seemingly perceives things awkwardly different than we would.

The better parts of the movie show that Ted might just be the victim of condition or unlucky encounter with wrong people. From his father and guests, all have inherited flaws which Ted may misguidedly follow. The other angle is he’s already disturbed from the beginning and takes advantage of others. He doesn't talk much, and it's probably better that way since the scenes are more effectively when he's silent.

The main concern is the slow pace. Sure, it has good cinematography, but there are many lingering shots. Music is steadily becoming grim, and this is more weird than dreadful since there's barely significant development as the scenes are prolonged more than they need be. It feels as though the movie hypes a dreadful scene only to shift to normal dialogue.

It's eerie at times simply by how isolated and lonely The Boy is portrayed, but it could benefit from faster screenplay, especially in few bland moments that barely contribute to the story.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

LeZee

Apr 14, 2016

A look at a boy's behaviour who was isolated from the society.

The entire setting reminds us the movie 'Psycho'. More or less it could have had made a good prequel to that, like the portrayal of Norman Bates' childhood. As an independent film from any previous narrative, it was quite goodA look at a boy's behaviour who was isolated from the society.

The entire setting reminds us the movie 'Psycho'. More or less it could have had made a good prequel to that, like the portrayal of Norman Bates' childhood. As an independent film from any previous narrative, it was quite good actually. Inspired by a novel that tells the story of a 9 year old boy who runs a motel with his father in a nowhere. In a lonely place where the customers are very rare, how the boy develops his behavious without social consciousness is what this movie is.

Trust me, realism means this movie, but there's always flaws in a small budget film like this. If you always scan for logic, you can't enjoy any movie even in small quantity. Empty your thoughts and get into it, then there's a chance you might like it. I'm not saying it'll become your favourite, but the depiction was so good which was quite similar to the recent Austrian movie 'Goodnight Mommy'.

It is not a horror, but a thriller-drama. A terrifying theme, that means terror-horror, thus it called horror. Other than that there's no supernatural or sci-fi things in it. It was a decent movie to me, I felt it was slightly underrated. The turnaround in the storytelling was very good yet predictable stuff. The filmmaker must bring a sequel for it, otherwise I'll be very disappointed.

6/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CameraBounceGod

Sep 23, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 44 minute until i had to look up who the guy was (Rainn Wilson).....this movie is kinda fun to see what happens is all....nevermind he kicks a chicken to death.....this is what dwight deserves.....lol very strage tale....then the kid gets kicked....anyway....i feel like i kinda stayed at their hotel...so glad we thought the kid might get burned and then we thought the people might get burned and then they did get burned.............the mom in florida line is worth the wait… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

DoughBoii

Mar 30, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Absolutely horrible, went into the movie with high hopes a pretty interesting concept but done time and time again but still went to see it. Acting was pretty good but premise of the movie, horrible.
This movie is filled with pointless tension between the protagonist and this doll whom of which we think is possessed by the soul of a dead child.
This movie relies entirely on jump scares and tension between the doll, an ex boyfriend and an interested coworker. All of which is added just for run time.
The director must have known people would see this as a rip off of Annabelle so they quickly changed the ending so we would find out that this man-child was living in the walls moving the doll to make the viewer think it was possessed... Don't recommend seeing.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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