[Screen It]

 

"THE BOY"
(2016) (Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans) (PG-13)


Alcohol/Drugs Moderate
Blood/Gross Stuff Moderate
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude Extreme
Frightening/Tense Scenes Heavy
Gun/Weapons Minor
Imitative Behavior Heavy
Jump Scenes Heavy
Music (Scary/Tense) Extreme
Music (Inappropriate) None
Profanity Mild
Sex/Nudity Moderate
Smoking None
Tense Family Scenes Moderate
Topics to Talk About Heavy
Violence Heavy


QUICK TAKE:
Horror: A young woman takes a job as a nanny only to discover that the 8-year-old boy is a life-sized doll that may be possessed by a spirit.
PLOT:
Greta Evans (LAUREN COHAN) is a young American woman who's left the States to get away from her abusive boyfriend, Cole (BEN ROBSON), who's paid no heed to her restraining order on him. To make ends meet, she's taken a job as a nanny in the U.K. working for an older British couple, Mr. Heelshire (JIM NORTON) and Mrs. Heelshire (DIANA HARDCASTLE), at their remote mansion estate. She's to care for their 8-year-old son, Brahms, but is taken aback when she learns that the "child" is actually a life-size porcelain doll. That initially seems like a joke or prank to her, but she quickly learns that the Heelshires treat the doll as their real son, and follow a strict set of daily rules that they pass on to her.

With nowhere else to go, she decides she can do this, especially with the husband and wife heading off for vacation. Once they're gone, she throws a shawl over the doll and thinks no more about it. That is, until she finds the shawl on the floor and the doll looking at her with a frozen stare. Greta initially doesn't think much of that or other odd events, but does get some insight from a local grocer, Malcolm (RUPERT EVANS), who's been delivering groceries to the estate for years.

It turns out the real Brahms died in a fire twenty years ago on his eighth birthday, followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of the doll that they've then treated as a real boy ever since. That seems to make sad sense to Greta, but when things start progressively getting creepier and creepier -- including the doll suddenly being in a different location than moments before, not to mention spooky phone calls where a child's voice talks to her -- she begins to wonder if the dead boy's spirit is in the house or even the doll itself.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're into horror movies and especially ones featuring creepy dolls, they just might.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For violence and terror, and for some thematic material.


I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

[Around the World in 80 Days] [Family Camp] [Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.