I started "The Boy" with low expectations regarding the overall quality of the story. Being that the film is on Netflix, I pretty much assumed that it would simply supply my need for a quick Halloween flick that wasn't R-rated. I expected a few jump-scares here; a female scream there, and a doll that moves on its own.
Thankfully, the film exceeded my expectations. Disregard the reviews that say it is a complete bore - if you're fond of slow movies that carefully wait to crawl under your skin, you're going to love this film. It's a very interesting concept, and while the film does drag at times, the ending has a twist that, while I didn't really understand at first, turned out to be one of the most unpredictable plot twists I've seen in a while.
I'm not sure I'll watch it a second time, but it was well worth the wait for the first sitting. I've seen over 400 movies, and I still was surprised by this show's ending. For that, my hat goes off to the creator - he did a really good job here.
Ok, was expecting some other kind of storyline so ended up with an extra rating lol.
"The Boy" is a beautiful movie featuring a creepy doll as the center point of its story. Personally, I've never found dolls particularly scary. Now if this was about a ventriloquist dummy, that would probably terrify me. Short of the Twilight Zone's "Talky Tina", I just don't find them frightening. But Brahms, who is the creepy doll of this story, he's pretty unnerving.
The goal of my review is not to give away anything. I can recommend "The Boy" as a thriller, but not as a Horror movie. It's rated PG-13 which means it comes pre-loaded with minimal gore and about a half dozen jump scares for teenagers who pay their money to jump out of their seats and then giggle with relief and embarrassment. But for those of us with the ability to recognize and appreciate a movie that can sustain a mood and generate fear, it's nice to find that "The Boy" has some of those moments as well.
The first two-thirds of "The Boy" are its highlight. The development of Greta the Nanny (Lauren Cohen) and the backstory of Brahms, the deceased boy that the doll represents, is interesting. Once the elderly parents of Brahms leave on vacation, Brahms slowly torments Greta. We never see Brahms move and neither does Greta, and honestly it gets frustrating, but in a good way. It really ramps up the suspense and anticipation of the moment when we might get to see Brahms in motion.
During the last third of the run time, things fell apart for me. I didn't care for the direction, or should I say the twist, that the movie took. It's not spoiling anything by saying there's a twist, especially for a twist junkie like myself. It just didn't go in the direction that I would have hoped it would. It's also not giving anything away by mentioning that direction is not something especially unique. Others may like the finale more than I did.
Overall, this is a moody, good-looking movie with solid acting and a decent amount of suspense.
I really liked this movie. I love when you go into a movie with expextations and come out with something more. This was one of those movies that I thought was just going to be one of those typical haunted 'house' type of things but turned out to be much more interesting. The overall atmosphere of this movie was unsettling, even when nothing happens you feel this uneasy vibe. Good acting, good story, strong ending.
I liked the twist but I wish they would've explained the family's story. A couple of jump scares, but not as much as I expected and for what I look for into a horror movie. Lauren Cohan is always a + though.
Better than I expected, but suddenly the story went from interesting to quite boring. In my opinion, this story had more potential.
How the movie should have gone:
Mrs Heelshire: ...this is Brahms.
Greta: LOL. Girl, bye.
credits roll
That said, it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting something in the vein of 'Annabelle', or similar supernatural movie, and thought it was fairly predictable throughout. Until the end, that is, which I definitely did not see coming at all.
This was an interesting one. It continues engaging both your curiousity and intrigue right up until the end, to which at this point everything clicks and finally makes sense.
Acting was of standard caliber with no real stand out performances, and the pace can drag at some points.
Overall; this is one of those ‘one and done’ movies whereby you watch it once and shelve it forever.
I love this movie because it has surprising but clear ending.
This was better than I expected. 7/8
soo...the doll wasn't actually haunted at all.. it was too bland for a horror flick tho. i thought it would be really good judging from the trailer. I guess I wasn more scared on the trailer than the movie itself. haha and I'm guessing there would be a part 2 since Brahms was able to restore his doll Brahms. lol. And I wish there was more to it than jump scares.
Was expecting mega spooky Gothic horror. Ended up being a film that could have been made for T.V. It had 1 jump for me, but followed the same old formula and didn't impress at all. #ShiftvW8
Lauren Cohan I love you. I saw complete this terrible movie just for you
Creepy and well done movie. The ending was somewhat bittersweet though. Part of me liked the twist, but they really didn't make the most out of it.
This was ok but it could of been better. It felt like they didn't know how to end it. It started off being a creepy doll movie but it kind of ended up as a slasher. The scenes towards the end were the parts i enjoyed the most though.
Quite entertaining and surprising end. Movie was not what I expected & not too good, but okay.
Got 2-3 good scenes but otherwise...meh!!
This was a surprise! Creepy suspensful movie, well acted, written, and crafted by the director. The boy is creepy as hell!! I would watch the movie again!
Well that was a really weird film. The plot twist at the end was so obscure! Preferred my view of how it was going to go in my head!
Movie is ok, I was expecting some paranormal crap but ending was surprising. Enjoyable.
One of the better horror movies these days. Did not expect the story to take the turn it did. Glad I gave it a try!
Watched this for the flophouse. Much better than I expected but issues w the ending. For the first 1/3, I was thinking just do your job lady. You're being paid for a job do it! Then if haunting still happens, we'll address it.
Lauren Cohan was unrecognizable on this role in contrast with the walking dead. Nice creepy story about a doll with a twist that didn't expect. I didn't like the ending ending though it didn't make any sense.
Besides Lauren being easy on the eyes, pg-13 horror rarely works. Horror should always be rated r
This is probably one of my favourite horror type movies, it's suspenseful and creepy and doesn't have the unnecessary and unrealistic gore of most thrillers. Genuinely enjoyed watching it.
Why the hell would she stay?
These Horror/Thriller movies ppl have such an IQ.
The Boy is a creepy and suspenseful horror film. The story follows an American nanny who’s hired by a wealthy English couple to look after a porcelain doll named Brahms, who they treat as a surrogate son after having lost their real son in a fire; but when the nanny neglects to properly care for the doll strange things begin to happen. Lauren Cohan leads the cast and gives an especially strong performance. And the script is well constructed, particularly in how it sets up the plot and builds mystery around the doll. However, the pacing can be kind of slow at times and some parts of the plot don’t quite work. Still, while it may seem like a typical possessed doll type film, The Boy delivers a few chilling surprises.
Well, at least it wasn't awful.
Creepy Doll. Creepy Music. Creepy Ending. 5/10
I expected a run-of-the-mill mediocre horror/thriller. It turned out to be slightly better than that. I was definitely not expecting the twist at the end. At this point, I'm actually curious what the sequel will bring.
I was fully excited and laughing my ass out while it was just about the freaking doll messing around the house. Maybe the idea of Brahms being an actual person living inside the walls could really BE SOMETHING, but the whole twist seemed a little misplaced and the "action" sequence felt a little messy and hard-to-buy.
7/10 for Lauren Cohan trying not to laugh.
I put off watching this at the theater mainly because I dont like possessed dolls as a general theme of horror movies. If this hadn't been streaming on Netflix, I'm not sure I would've rented it either. Though it did start rather slow, it also had some good, creepy, stalker tropes that built the suspense well. I also rather enjoyed the outcome. Even if it wasn't entirely original, it was well done.
For a brief moment I hopped that Malcolm would be Brahms. And somehow he changed his name to Malcolm so he could avoid the arrest of murdering the young girl hence the fire in the attic and the "death" of Brahms. Something like that.
It surprised me a lot, I really liked it.
This film is 1 big WTF.
If you're in the UK - he reminds me of reese-moggs and his nanny :laughing: :laughing: (This really isnt any form of political statement either).
Its not some epic blockbuster but a hidden gem purely for being completely bizarre :laughing:. If not much else, you'll get a laugh whatever way you find it.
I was expecting this to be a run-of-the-mill jump scare movie and it exceeded my expectations. For a likely low budget film with minimal special effects, it did the suspense build up pretty well.
I really enjoyed this movie, I was surprised as I thought it was going to be the usual poor horror movie - it wasn't!
Give it a chance and watch this movie, I think you'll be surprised and enjoy it.....
No one expects that kind of plot twist... but unfortunately it doesn't help the movie rate.
i don't understand the horrible reviews, this movie was extremely well done. i would definitely call it more of a thriller than a horror though.
the film is so disappointing that it ends up being comical in the end. Lost time.
Just bad, go to sleep instead, time better spent.
Not so good, unexpected ending ...
The twist at the end ruined it for me. Movie would have worked out better if the doll was really the cause of everything. Once the twist hit, the movie just looses all that it had going for it.
Still worth one watch IMO!
Not only is Lauren Cohan (of The Walking Dead), being her first horror film, in this but also the music is by Bear McCreary (also of The Walking Dead)!
The boy, it's a good movie!
Shout by DeletedBlockedParentSpoilers2016-06-15T20:59:57Z
Oh Boy, didn't see that end coming...!!!