Respond to these rapid questions in our The Boy quiz and we will tell you which The Boy character you are. Play it now.
Among the countless creepy dolls that have appeared in films and television shows, from Talky Tina in “The Twilight Zone” to Chucky in the “Child’s Play” movies to Annabelle in “The Conjuring,” it’s often the prospect of the inanimate object coming to life and wreaking havoc that is more terrifying than the actual act of doing so. In order to achieve this, you must balance the two extremes of creating fear in the audience through the transformation of a childhood toy into something truly menacing and eliciting laughter at the absurdity of the proposition.
The unfortunate – and unintentionally hilarious – case of “The Boy,” whose moody atmosphere and committed performances are unable to conceal the fact that this is one mediocre film, despite its committed performances. This is also a film that wasn’t shown to critics prior to its release; the studio actually cancelled its previously scheduled Thursday-night sneak previews of the film, in case you were wondering whether or not you should expect a positive reception.)
But Lauren Cohan, star of “The Walking Dead,” tries her hardest to keep her role as realistic as possible throughout the series’ implausible plot twists and turns. It is in this film that she portrays Greta, a pretty, young American who travels to a remote English village to work as a nanny for an eight-year-old boy. As it turns out, she has a troubled romantic past and needs to get as far away from home as possible; however, she soon discovers that she has gotten as far away from everything else as well. When she arrives at the Heelshires’ stately, intimidating manor in a chauffeured car, she exclaims, “It’s like something out of a storybook, isn’t it?” she says with awe. As a matter of fact, it’s like something out of every Gothic horror film you’ve ever seen: wild, misty grounds, dark stairwells, hidden passages, and things that go bump in the night.
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In her meeting with the Heelshires (veterans Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle), who appear more like the grandparents of an 8-year-old boy than the parents, Greta is given a strict set of rules and an established routine to which she is expected to adhere. She also meets the boy himself, who isn’t really a boy at all, but rather a china doll with a prim wardrobe of tiny suits and cardigans and a glassy stare, and she falls in love with him immediately. However, the Heelshires, who have given him the name Brahms, treat him as if he were a living, breathing child. They have a conversation with him. They provide him with food. In the evenings, they carry him up and down the stairs, play classical music for him, and tuck him into bed.
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“Oh, Brahms!” says the narrator. At one point, his mother gently reprimands him, saying, “You must sit up straight.” Afterwards, she exclaims, “Mommy is so proud of you.” The aloofness with which these genteel, wealthy individuals treat what is clearly a toy is intended to be unnerving, according to the story’s premise. Is it possible that they are deranged or diabolical? Our stand-in Greta expresses all of the skepticism and apprehension that we would feel in such a bizarre situation, and she does so convincingly. However, she is in desperate need of money, so she accepts the position. In fact, it’s a mystery how she learned about the gig from her small town in Montana, given that they have no Internet or cell service and appear to have stopped communicating with the outside world decades ago.)
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Malcolm (Rupert Evans) is the couple’s other employee, a funny and flirty grocery clerk who runs errands for them in town and visits them once a week. The reason for his presence, like Greta’s, is a bit of a puzzle. Who exactly is he? Why do they put their faith in him? Is there anything else going on in his life besides his weekly visits? Stacey Menear’s script is full of unanswered questions, and we’re only scratching the surface here to avoid giving anything away.) Malcolm, on the other hand, is courteous enough to inform Greta of what is going on: A fire claimed the life of Brahms on his eighth birthday 20 years ago, and the Heelshires have been using the doll as a substitute ever since.
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Despite its bizarreness, everything appears to be harmless enough – at least until the Heelshires leave town for a long-overdue vacation and leave Greta alone with Brahms. As a result, she begins to notice the disappearance and reappearance of her belongings, as well as the sound of children’s sobbing and laughing echoing through the hallways. The doll itself does not move – at least not at first – but there are clearly strange things going on.
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While director William Brent Bell stages some truly tense scenes, one of which takes place on a tried-and-true, dark-and-stormy night, he can’t seem to decide whether to play it straight or have a little fun with this outlandish premise, similar to Guillermo Del Toro’s ravishing “Crimson Peak.” For the most part, he relies on jump scares, nightmare sequences, and the general foreboding atmosphere of the house to accomplish his goals. This leaves us in a gray area where the characters’ decisions, reactions and dialogue make us laugh unintentionally, but the characters’ actions, reactions and dialogue cause us to laugh unintentionally. There are moments when it is awkward and strange, but they are never shamelessly outrageous enough to qualify as a guilty pleasure.
Neither the twist that explains what’s really going on here nor the climactic confrontation with the truly evil force that has been toying with and torturing Greta are particularly exciting. They’re more like disappointments. Rather than being revelatory, it is more rote, and the possibility of a sequel in the final shot comes across as a threat rather than a promise.
For more personality quizzes check this: Risen Quiz.
