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The Boy
By Qi Xijia Source:Global Times Published: 2016-4-4 18:28:01
All dolled up in Gothic ambience, with none of the suspense and horror
It begins in a country house in England. Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan), a 20-something American, arrives at the home of the elderly Mr and Mrs Heelshire (Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle) to be the live-in nanny for their young boy. Their manor resembles many houses in Gothic horror films of the 1970s, with mounted taxidermy and creepy toys and dolls, and eerie family portrait hanging on the wall.
First, Greta meets the Heelshires' flirty grocery delivery man, Malcolm (Rupert Evans), who welcomes her to the home while dodging questions about the character of the little lad she's about to take care of.
When the Heelshires introduce Greta to the boy, Brahms, she's shocked that he's not a boy, but an eerie porcelain doll with cold features and empty eyes.
Still, Mrs Heelshire calls the doll "Mom's good boy." The Heelshires give Greta a list of dos and don'ts and tell her to follow strictly or Brahms will be unhappy. This includes waking him up at seven o'clock, playing loud classical music for him, reading him stories with a loud and clear voice, and giving him a kiss goodnight.
One morning the Heelshires suddenly bid Greta farewell, saying they must leave on a journey. They seem to be sorry, leaving Greta alone with Brahms, but also quite antsy to go, and relieved not to spend another minute in the house. They rush into their car and drive off.
Then one by one, weird things happen to Greta. Her hair is mysteriously cut short while she is bathing, her dresses disappear. Some nights she can hear the cry of a boy.
Unlike the usual horror films featuring a doll, The Boy doesn't see a murderous toy. Instead, it plays a series of pranks. Halfway into the film, a tacit understanding develops between Greta and Brahms, easing the scare factor.
Audiences will probably be drawn to the performance by Cohan, who also starred in The Walking Dead. She does a good job interpreting Greta's emotional change, from her shock upon first meeting the doll, to the horror when the weird things start to happen, and to finally compromising with the boy, which all parents experience dealing with naughty kids.
Unfortunately, the plot falls flat with repetitive acts and lack of coherence. Few other scary things happen until the very end. In most of the screen time, we see a triangle love story between Greta, her abusive ex-boyfriend (Ben Robson) and Malcolm, so that when it suddenly leads to the rushed ending when the mystery behind Brahms is finally revealed, the impact is weakened by the lack of relevant or suspenseful buildup.
There is a violent moment near the end that suggests a payoff, taking the audience to the original point of the film and addressing the weird behavior of the Heelshires. However, the final twist comes too late and is not fully developed, leaving the audience with only more unsolved questions.
The Shanghai-based film-viewing group Tengjingshu recently held a screening of the movie, at which it scored 7.9 out of 10, based on the accumulated votes of the 80 viewers in attendance.
Greta Evans holding the porcelain boy Photo: From the Internet
Everyone's a critic
GT: Which scene did you like most?
30, Ms Dai, administrator and Tengjingshu member
"There is some zoom-ins of the eyes of the taxidermy and collectibles. There are deer, eagles and small dolls. Every time I saw the eyes, I thought there were hidden cameras behind them. The rest of the setting is also classic. Although there is not much CGI, I think it is classic, and the director did a good job building up the atmosphere through the lights."
GT: Were you scared?
Ms Zhang, 30, marketing and Tengjingshu member
"When I first read the title, I though it wouldn't be scary. I was scared twice when Greta has dreams in which Brahms is alive. The narrative falls flat when Greta learns how to get along with Brahms, and I got sleepy. It feels sloppy, for young people who are likely to accept the violent scenes and fast-paced acts. It would be much better if the final twist was revealed earlier. I gave 8 out of 10 points to the film."
GT: What did you like best?
Windy, 33, banker
"The film does a good job opening up many possibilities other than the cliché that we all believed it would be. The whole time I'd been guessing how and why the doll is doing the things and thinking of many stupid ways to end the film, but it's not developed as I guessed. It's not going to keep you awake at night like great horror films do, but I don't think it will disappoint either."
First, Greta meets the Heelshires' flirty grocery delivery man, Malcolm (Rupert Evans), who welcomes her to the home while dodging questions about the character of the little lad she's about to take care of.
When the Heelshires introduce Greta to the boy, Brahms, she's shocked that he's not a boy, but an eerie porcelain doll with cold features and empty eyes.
Still, Mrs Heelshire calls the doll "Mom's good boy." The Heelshires give Greta a list of dos and don'ts and tell her to follow strictly or Brahms will be unhappy. This includes waking him up at seven o'clock, playing loud classical music for him, reading him stories with a loud and clear voice, and giving him a kiss goodnight.
One morning the Heelshires suddenly bid Greta farewell, saying they must leave on a journey. They seem to be sorry, leaving Greta alone with Brahms, but also quite antsy to go, and relieved not to spend another minute in the house. They rush into their car and drive off.
Then one by one, weird things happen to Greta. Her hair is mysteriously cut short while she is bathing, her dresses disappear. Some nights she can hear the cry of a boy.
Unlike the usual horror films featuring a doll, The Boy doesn't see a murderous toy. Instead, it plays a series of pranks. Halfway into the film, a tacit understanding develops between Greta and Brahms, easing the scare factor.
Audiences will probably be drawn to the performance by Cohan, who also starred in The Walking Dead. She does a good job interpreting Greta's emotional change, from her shock upon first meeting the doll, to the horror when the weird things start to happen, and to finally compromising with the boy, which all parents experience dealing with naughty kids.
Unfortunately, the plot falls flat with repetitive acts and lack of coherence. Few other scary things happen until the very end. In most of the screen time, we see a triangle love story between Greta, her abusive ex-boyfriend (Ben Robson) and Malcolm, so that when it suddenly leads to the rushed ending when the mystery behind Brahms is finally revealed, the impact is weakened by the lack of relevant or suspenseful buildup.
There is a violent moment near the end that suggests a payoff, taking the audience to the original point of the film and addressing the weird behavior of the Heelshires. However, the final twist comes too late and is not fully developed, leaving the audience with only more unsolved questions.
The Shanghai-based film-viewing group Tengjingshu recently held a screening of the movie, at which it scored 7.9 out of 10, based on the accumulated votes of the 80 viewers in attendance.
Greta Evans holding the porcelain boy Photo: From the Internet
Everyone's a critic
GT: Which scene did you like most?
30, Ms Dai, administrator and Tengjingshu member
"There is some zoom-ins of the eyes of the taxidermy and collectibles. There are deer, eagles and small dolls. Every time I saw the eyes, I thought there were hidden cameras behind them. The rest of the setting is also classic. Although there is not much CGI, I think it is classic, and the director did a good job building up the atmosphere through the lights."
GT: Were you scared?
Ms Zhang, 30, marketing and Tengjingshu member
"When I first read the title, I though it wouldn't be scary. I was scared twice when Greta has dreams in which Brahms is alive. The narrative falls flat when Greta learns how to get along with Brahms, and I got sleepy. It feels sloppy, for young people who are likely to accept the violent scenes and fast-paced acts. It would be much better if the final twist was revealed earlier. I gave 8 out of 10 points to the film."
GT: What did you like best?
Windy, 33, banker
"The film does a good job opening up many possibilities other than the cliché that we all believed it would be. The whole time I'd been guessing how and why the doll is doing the things and thinking of many stupid ways to end the film, but it's not developed as I guessed. It's not going to keep you awake at night like great horror films do, but I don't think it will disappoint either."
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