The Boy (PG-13)

Dolls have been a source of horror, and one of my particular kryptonites for decades, so when I saw the previews for the 2016 movie “The Boy,” I knew it would offer fodder for nightmares at the very least.

“The Boy” starts out excellent, and for ¾ of the film was poised to become one of my new favorite horror movies. But a dismal ending comes out of nowhere to cripple the piece. Nevertheless, if your looking for a great horror movie with perfect scares, scenery, and characters, it wins out for the most part.

The setting sets the stage perfectly right from the open; a foggy and rainy British countryside, and the tones used by director William Brent Bell render the backdrop astonishing. We meet Greta Evans (the beautiful Lauren Cohan) who arrives at the palatial Heelshire mansion, which she herself describes as something from a “storybook.”

Greta has an ambiguous backstory; the Montana born woman has arrived in England under mysterious circumstances, and the reasons for her departure are unveiled piece by piece as the movie progresses, but her purpose across the pond is a temporary job as a nanny for a wealthy couple. Cohan is gorgeous in an all natural way and is a perfect casting choice for the part. The actress knows what it takes to pull off a horror movie from her staring role in the TV series The Walking Dead.

It’s a horror film right away as Greta explores the museum-like mansion, encountering a haunting portrait on one of the walls that depicts the Heelshire family, and the simple isolation of the old and cold estate. The score by Bear McCreary is great and plays well as an enhancement to the the film.

The tables are flipped on Greta when she meets Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire, and they introduce their son and her charge, Brahms, not a real life boy as she assumed, but a porcelain doll. Greta’s initial response is to laugh but she quickly learns the Heelshire’s are serious; something horrible has obviously happened to the real Brahms and the couple has learned to cope by treating the doll like their own child.

I loved the story itself, with a creative concept so original I salivated at the possibilities of where it could be taken. The Brahms doll is sinister looking on its own, and the very nature of Greta alone in the giant house with it is a thing of perfection. Greta goes from humoring Mrs. Heelshire as she introduces the doll, to believing the woman is crazy when she provides set of rules that must be followed.

The psychological terror is what carries the movie as Greta herself begins to experience strange things in the house that would indicate she isn’t alone. Greta never sees the doll move or misbehave, so the viewer is left with the uncertainty of whether or not Brahms is alive, possessed, or just spooky enough in its presence that people nearby let their imaginations run away with them.

Lauren Cohan is supported well by Rupert Evans as Malcolm, the grocery delivery man who offers additional insight into the backstory of the home and Brahms himself. Diana Hardcastle and Jim Norton are great as the aristocratic parents, each living as though the doll is their flesh and blood child. “He’s not like the other children” Mr. Heelshire advises, shortly after his wife tells Greta that all the other sitters left because Brahms “rejected them.” They play the roles well and leave you wondering if they are crazy or there is more to what is happening.

The slow but steady build is perfect (ending portion excluded) and the movie is filled with a perfect amount of terrifying scenes. I jumped up in my seat more than once and one particular scene that involves a call Greta receives (we’ll leave it at that) filled my arms with goosebumps and my heart with fright.

“The Boy” is a really well done scary movie. The ending lowers the grade but if you can deal with film imperfection, you will enjoy the story.

by – Matt Christopher