In an effort to get away from a bad relationship back home in Montana, Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan, The Walking Dead) takes a position as a nanny in a small English village. Upon her arrival, Greta is in awe as she explores the massive, stately home and grounds. She meets the Heelshires’ grocery delivery guy Malcolm (Rupert Evans, The Man in the High Castle), who inquires as to whether or not she has met her 8-year-old charge, Brahams. He seems to want to tell her something, but their conversation is interrupted as Mrs. Heelshire arrives to explain the rules and duties of her job. There is a very specific list of rules to follow in taking care of the Heelshires’ son, and she mustn’t stray from this list. Mrs Heelshire also notes that the home is old and the windows have been accidentally painted shut, that the fireplaces should not be used, that food must not be thrown in the garbage as it will attract creatures, that there is poor cell phone reception, and that Malcolm will stop by once a week to drop off food and her payment.

After this rather ominous and foreboding introduction, it’s time for Greta to meet young Brahams, but when she arrives at the child’s bedroom, all Greta sees is a life-sized doll which the parents treat like a real, living boy. At first she giggles, thinking the Heelshires are punking her, but she quickly realizes that they are serious, and that this doll is some sort of surrogate for a son they lost 20 years prior. After privately consulting with their child, the Heelshires give Greta the good news—that Brahms has approved of her. And so the Heelshires pack up and prepare to leave on holiday. Just as they are leaving, Mrs. Heelshire reminds Greta that as long as she’s good to Brahms, he’ll be good, but if she’s bad to him…

Greta thinks this is the easiest job she’s ever had, and almost immediately starts violating the strict rules that had been set forth. She not only neglects Brahms but even taunts him, throwing a blanket over him to avoid being creeped out. Brahms doesn’t like this, and soon strange things start happening around the house—Brahms seems to move while she is not looking, things keep disappearing, and Greta hears footsteps and creaking throughout the house. Greta starts to wonder if the doll is actually alive—is she going crazy, or is there some truth to this? So she starts researching the circumstances surrounding young Brahm’s death in hopes of figuring out what’s really going on in this house.

The Boy starts off as a perfect thriller. It starts off slowly building the tension by feeding into the viewer’s imagination and anticipation. The old, isolated stately home is the perfect setting to make the viewer feel unsettled and nervous about what’s to come, and the filmmakers take advantage of this, giving a few jump scare moments as we get acquainted with the setting and characters. This tension only builds further as disturbing and unexplained things start happening and Greta starts to suspect the worst. Brahms is so wonderfully disturbing that I found myself totally creeped out every time he appeared on screen, just waiting for the moment when this doll would blink his eyes or turn his head. As the film moves into its second act, there is a bit of this surreal questioning of what’s actually happening. Is Greta going crazy? Is this the calm before the storm? And what kind of sinister things are still to come? The final act of the film takes an unexpected (and slightly disappointing) turn towards more of a traditional slasher-like horror film—I think they could have gone in a far more interesting and unique direction for this final act.

The majority of the movie involves Lauren Cohan acting on her own, or with the doll, and the actress does an excellent job carrying the brunt of this film. She expertly conveys Greta’s panic and fear, while also delivering on some of the film’s more comedic catch-your-breath moments. You really get a sense of what her character has gone through to get to this point, and her will and determination to survive the ordeal she now faces.

The Blu-ray’s technical presentation is excellent. The video provides a clear, detailed picture that really brings the film’s dark and creepy tone to life. The audio track also helps add to the tension of the film, making use of the surround and stereo channels to put the viewer right in the middle of all of the strange things that are going on. As Greta hears sounds and noises coming from various directions, you feel like you are right there with her. Very shortly into the film I found myself jumping when a door suddenly slammed behind me.

Unfortunately there are absolutely no bonus features included on the Blu-ray disc—not even the trailer for the film! The only extra included is a digital copy of the film. This was a huge disappointment as I would have loved to have had a commentary, or seen some behind-the-scenes footage as there must have been some fun stories surrounding the making this film.

What’s Included:
Film: (1:37:47)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital Copy (For Redemption Deadline See NBCUCodes.com):

• UltraViolet Digital HD Copy (Universal, Flixster, Vudu or CinemaNow) OR iTunes Digital HD Copy

Extras:

• There is no bonus material included on the disc

Final Thoughts:

The Boy is an entertaining thriller that slowly builds the tension over the course of the first act before things get really creepy. I was slightly disappointed by the turn the film takes in the final act as it felt like more of a traditional by-the-books direction to go, but I still enjoyed the film overall, and was very pleased with Lauren Cohan’s performance. The film provided many elements of a great thriller—a strong female character in distress, a lot of tense and jump-scare moments, a creepy setting via the old stately English home, and a demonic/supernatural element with this disturbing puppet that may or may not be alive. The technical presentation of the Blu-ray is excellent, but there is absolutely no bonus material included (except for a digital copy of the film). For that reason I made this a Worth a Look rather than a Recommendation. I still think the film is worth checking out, but since there is no bonus material included, I’d recommend a rental or wait until there is a sale or price drop to purchase.