The Boy – Movie Review

by | Jul 11, 2016 | Movie Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

MV5BMTY1OTI1Njg1Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzAyMTQ3NDE@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,666,1000_AL_The Boy
Director: Craig William Macneill
Starring: Jared Breeze, David Morse, Rainn Wilson
Chiller Films
November, 2015
Reviewed by Jess Landry

This is not The Boy you are thinking of.

That The Boy, starring The Walking Dead’s Lauren Cohan, is a film that made it into theatres (albeit briefly) about a nanny who discovers her latest charge is a life-sized doll.

This The Boy, starring youngster Jared Breeze, is a made-for-TV movie from the Chiller Channel about a lonely boy with some serious psychological issues. The only thing the two films share is their boring title.

The film starts with young Ted Henley collecting roadkill just outside of the rundown motel his dad owns. Needless to say, it’s the kind of place that makes the Bates Motel look friendly. Running that kind of establishment, it’s also needless to say the Henley’s are behind on their bills, but Ted manages to save the nickels and dimes his dad gives him for bringing home flattened animals in hopes of getting a bus ticket to Florida, where his mom lives.

Seeing an opportunity, Ted starts leaving big chunks of food out in the road to get more roadkill but his plan backfires when a car with a distraught (and heavily bearded) Rainn Wilson hits a foraging deer, severely injuring the Assistant (to the) Regional Manager. From that point on, Ted becomes fascinated with Wilson’s character, and slowly becomes this teeny tiny ball of sociopathic rage, one that’s ready to explode at any moment.

The Boy is a slow-paced thriller, one that takes its sweet time to divulge its true intentions until the last possible moment. Some viewers may enjoy this pacing, while others who crave more bang for their buck will most likely be turned off by the lack of action. Plain and simple, this film is a character study of a sociopath in the making, and keeping that in mind helps when watching it.

Both David Morse and Rainn Wilson’s talents are wasted, as they’re no more than background noise. Little Jared Breeze is the star here – he does a fantastic job playing Ted and really works his slow descent into madness.

Kudos to the Chiller Channel for taking a stab at their own original content – this venture certainly isn’t an opportunity wasted. If slow, brooding, psychological horror is your speed, then this version of The Boy may be for you.

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *