Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Boy’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are many rules at which to live by, and most of us follow them every day. Then when you get a job, there are more rules that you have to obey on a daily basis, or you will not have that job for very long. These rules are put in place to make sure that your daily activities can be monitored with little effort by the top brass, and most of the time, if you follow them, you have little to no issues, but when you disregard them, well, your working life can become a living hell. You can get away with bending the rules ever so slightly, but that should be the extent of how far you go if you want to make sure that you continue to have your job and are being taken care of the way you deserve. 
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Trying to put her past behind her, Greta Evans agrees to be a nanny at the Heelshire household and take care of their boy. But when Greta finds out that the boy is not a normal child, but a large doll, she believes that Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire have lost their minds. Getting the run through of the house, Greta walks the grounds with Mr. Heelshire and finds out that he thinks that things are a little strange as well, but her job will be important to keep young Brahms happy. With rules being put in place for their holiday, the Heelshires leave Greta alone in the house with their boy and apologize for anything that might go wrong.

Watching the strange parents leave, Greta goes about her daily activities of calling her best friend in the States and drinking wine and she pays no attention to the Brahms doll, since it is just silly. But strange things start happening around the house, and she is led to believe that it is all in her dreams. Yet, getting locked in the attic when she is supposed to have a date with the local shop boy starts to make her question if she is alone in the house at all. Having Malcolm check around the house for any possible intruders, he confirms the house is empty, but things continue to happen, including footsteps, calls from Brahms and her lost shoes being returned to gain her trust.

Seeing that the doll is alive, Greta starts to perform her duties as asked, and Brahms has ways of rewarding her. Moving about the house when she is not looking, Brahms is happy and very playful with his new nanny and instead of being afraid of the doll, Greta embraces him. Wanting to know what people think about the Heelshires and their lifestyle, Malcolm tells his American friend what he knows, but it does not answer all of the questions that she really has. Needing to know what kind of child Brahms was when he was alive, Greta hears the disturbing tale of a childhood murder that took place before his death. Even though everything in the house seems to be good, she has a bad feeling about what will happen if Brahms’ spirit is upset, and a visit from her ex-boyfriend confirms that Brahms is not to be trifled with and will do anything to keep Greta to himself.

There was a ton of build up for this movie when it was in theaters and it was on my list for when it came to one of the pay stations, because a decent horror movie about a doll has been lacking for some time. While I did not know what to expect, the buildup in the movie was just right and even though I did not like how it ended, it was pretty decent overall. I still have a hatred of porcelain dolls and that will never end since their lifeless faces are creepy, and this movie just confirmed that yet again. The only part of the movie that I did not understand was how Greta was able to embrace the haunted doll instead of running like hell to get away from it, but I guess that the thought of having a spirit around her made the whole situation fascinating and she simply wanted to know more. With creepy sounds in the night, a doll that moves on its own, a love triangle and music blaring around the house, this is a good one-time viewing movie that might keep you guessing about what the spirit of Brahms will do when he really gets angry. Stay Scared.

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