Review: 'The Boy' employs clever storytelling in its scares
Brahms. (David Bukach)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 98 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“The Boy,” also known as “The Inhabitant,” is a horror film about a new nanny who’s hired to babysit the son of an elderly couple. The son turns out to be a porcelain doll, and strange incidents soon surround her babysitting. It stars Lauren Cohan (Greta Evans), Rupert Evans (Malcolm), James Russell (Brahms Heelshire), Jim Norton (Mr Heelshire), Diana Hardcastle (Mrs Heelshire), and Ben Robson (Cole). It is PG-13.
“The Boy” might have a small cast, but they manage to carry the story to a surprising breadth. The beginning might seem disappointing and even stereotypical at first, but give it a chance and follow the story through. At the risk of sounding like a clickbaity headline, what you learn about the characters will truly shock you. And of course, there’s all the scares that’ll have you cringing at Greta’s uncomfortable proximity with Brahms.
Lauren Cohan is Greta.(David Bukach)
Highlights
All scenes serve a purpose
What really impresses me is how every beat is critical to your full understanding of the story, and how the exposition is cleverly disguised as throwaway lines that you end up remembering at the end. It’s only on hindsight that you realise how the construction of story has been subtly guiding you toward its horrific conclusion, and the ingenuity of the storytelling.
Sense of a genuine bond between Brahms and Greta
Despite the fact that Brahms is just a porcelain doll, you sense a true relationship between him and nanny Greta. Lauren Cohan’s performance convinces you that Greta sees Brahms as a person, rather than a doll, and this creepy conviction of hers is what adds to the eerie mood of the film. As warped as her compassion might be, it still stems from positive roots, and this is what makes the situation insane but sympathetic.
The unseen and the unreal
The film uses the unseen to good effect that keeps your spine tingling. So many disturbances happen out of the corner of Greta’s eye, forcing your imagination to fill in the gaps. Greta herself comes across as an unreliable narrator at times, making you question what’s there and tangible, and what’s not.
Classic but effective scares
There are also the traditional scare techniques that the film employs, which follow a standard format but result in rather powerful shocks. You know the protagonist shouldn’t go there, you know she shouldn’t do that, but you still can’t help wincing at what’s to come. Your anticipation of the inevitable horror is exploited beautifully, and the subversion of your expectations only amplifies the fright.
Twist in the tale
The twist is brilliantly executed, and leaves you breathless as you scramble to justify the plausibility of it all. The best part is, the twist doesn’t negate the horror that you’ve experienced, but forces you to relive an even more terrifying version of it. It improves the plot, and enhances every terror that has occurred thus far.
Jim Norton as Mr Heelshire and Diana Hardcastle as Mrs Heelshire. (David Bukach)
Letdowns
Over the top moments
Some of the scenes are terribly over the top. In hindsight, they were necessary, but while the scene is actually happening, it can get incredibly silly. It’s all for a purpose, though!
Greta consoles Brahms. (David Bukach)
“The Boy” is one of the most clever horror films to have come out in a long time. It deserves its place alongside classics like “The Sixth Sense” and will probably be the best horror film of 2016.
Should you buy the DVD? If you like searching for clues in films.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.
“The Boy” opens in cinemas 28 January, 2016 (Thursday).
