The Boy (2015) - Craig William Macneill

Running a small motel on a isolated stretch of roadway is hard work, and in the case of the Mt. Vista motel it doesn't seem to be paying off for its proprietor, John Henley.  After seeing his wife desert him for greener pastures in Florida, John has grown increasingly despondent to his young son Ted, a child who desperately needs someone as he attempts to grow up in a world of utter isolation and loneliness.  Being neglected by his father and having very little adult supervision, Ted begins to become infatuated with death, as darker impulses being to emerge in the nine-year-old boy.  Craig William Macneill's The Boy is a brooding psychological horror film thats greatest attribute is its stunning cinematography and skilled direction.  Featuring a dark, ruminating score and gorgeous imagery, The Boy could be described as an effective mood piece, atmospheric to a fault at times though being skillfully done.  Unfortunately what keeps The Boy from being great is its meandering plot points, which are mostly uninspiring and are certainly not helped by the film being overlong.  For awhile The Boy feels like it is one elaborate tease, with the boys increasingly demented antics feeling a little too forced, and almost completely lacking subtlety.  While the film may lack subtlety at times in how is captures this boy slowly being shaped into a psychopath, the film does a fantastic job at telling this story through lighting and photography.  It's a tad unfortunate that the The Boy lacks the nuance necessary to be something special because it's impressively crafted, which is why I'd argue that it's best to think of the film as more of a horror film instead of a psychological study of a budding psychopath.  The film's intentions seem to be more towards providing a study of a boy's loneliness and isolation, showing how the circumstances of his life can send him down the wrong path, though I'd argue it's a little too gleeful in its depravity at times to fully achieve it.  I almost wish The Boy was a film that went more all out in being a straight-up, slow-burn horror film, as the filmmakers show a much more observant eye when filming the boy's wickedness than it does when examining what sent him down this path. While The Boy may not achieve all of its ambitions, its impressive craft and demented mindset make it slow burn horror film that fans of the genre should enjoy.

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