The Boy Movie (2016) Review

The Boy 2016 Review

I’ve just seen The Boy in theaters, and let me tell you, it was a mixed bag. The film’s premise had potential—especially considering the creepy, unsettling nature of the doll at its core—but, unfortunately, it faltered when compared to its genre predecessors like Chucky, Annabelle, and The Conjuring. Going into it, I didn’t expect a masterpiece, mainly because the marketing didn’t really do it any favors, and the budget was clearly low. Sure, it starred an actress from The Walking Dead, but that wasn’t enough to carry it over the line. Still, I have to admit, it had some moments that were genuinely eerie, which kept me watching for a bit.

The plot centers around an American woman fleeing an abusive relationship. She’s hired as a caretaker for a child in England, only to discover that her charge is a doll, not an actual boy. The doll is meant to replace the deceased son of the elderly couple who employs her, and she’s required to follow strict rules in caring for it. At first, this setup is intriguing, especially as she goes through the motions of feeding and dressing the doll, almost as though it’s a real child. It gets under your skin—until things start to get weird. Objects begin moving, rules are broken, and the doll starts to “react” in ways that raise more questions than answers. For a while, it had me hooked, but this is where the film starts to stumble.

Without giving too much away, The Boy takes a sharp turn into the absurd. The twist at the end, which is supposed to be shocking, just left me scratching my head. It’s revealed that the doll isn’t a supernatural object at all—it’s actually a grown man, living in the walls of the house, tormenting the family for years. This revelation was such a strange choice that I felt cheated, and it made the entire buildup feel like a waste of time. The filmmakers seemed to think this was a clever, unexpected move, but it just felt forced and disconnected from the tension that had been slowly building throughout the film. Instead of being terrifying, the twist left me more confused than scared, which is not ideal for a horror film.

By the time we get to the final confrontation, the film loses all sense of tension. The “big reveal” is underwhelming, the fight scene is lackluster, and the entire resolution left me thinking, “That’s it?” The movie tried to be something it wasn’t, and it fell flat on its face. Honestly, the final act made Annabelle seem like The Exorcist in comparison. What could’ve been an intense, spine-chilling experience ended up feeling like a waste of time, not to mention the incredibly cringeworthy dialogue and some of the most underwhelming jump scares I’ve seen in a while. If you're in the mood for a decent scare, don’t bother with The Boy. It's more of a “wait for DVD” situation, at best.

In the end, The Boy is a prime example of a horror movie that had the right ingredients but failed to deliver. The acting, particularly from the lead (whose name escapes me right now), was solid enough, but her experience on The Walking Dead made it hard to fully buy into her performance in this genre. The film simply doesn’t hold up, especially when compared to the classics it tried to emulate. If you’re looking for a good horror flick, save your money and go see Star Wars instead (yes, I went there—again). The Boy didn’t just miss the mark, it completely flubbed the shot. Save yourself an hour and thirty-eight minutes and skip this one.