'The Boy' Review Thread

[Holmes]

To escape an abusive relationship, Greta (Lauren Cohan) moves from America to rural England, finding a position as a caregiver for a wealthy couple's child. Only after she is at their large manor do they reveal the quote-unquote child, Brahms, is in fact a life-sized porcelain doll, a representation of the troubled son they lost in a fire 20 years ago. Greta, left alone when the husband and wife go on holiday, is instructed to adhere to a strict routine, including feeding, playing music for, and reading stories to her charge, whom she slowly begins to suspect may be more than just a pacifying toy for her elderly and grieving employers. This is a small, but creepy, entertaining, and well-told mystery with extremely handsome production design and a sympathetic lead performance by Cohan. William Brent Bell is a poorly regarded director due to the mediocre video-game slasher Stay Alive and the godawful found-footage film The Devil Inside, but in a surprise twist, he proves rather adept at emulating the this-old-house atmosphere and slowly burning suspense of a film such as The Changeling.

B+