THE BOY | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

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

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.

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