by Frank Calvillo
What is it about motels and disturbed individuals? Honestly. I would love for someone to either make a documentary or write a thesis on what it is about spending life being in charge of a number of rooms and a swimming pool that makes a person become certifiable. I know there’s a correlation, and I am sincerely interested in someone finding out what it is. Until then, films such as the recently-released The Boy will continue to weave fascinating tales on the very subject, all the while offering up more evidence that such a connection does truly exist.
Based on a novel by Clay McLeod Chapman and a subsequent short film, The Boy tells the story of nine-year-old Ted (Jared Breeze), a lonely child living with his father John (David Morse) in the mountainside family motel. Distracted by the fact that his business is quickly going under, John makes whatever time he can for his young son. Ted, on the other hand, spends his days getting into different kinds of mischief, some of which shows a darker side of the young boy. When Ted causes a man named William (Rainn Wilson) to crash his car near his father’s motel, it sets off a chain of events which will reveal Ted to be a true budding sociopath.
The Boy has enough shocking punch to firmly earn its place in the canon of psycho child thrillers alongside the likes of The Bad Seed and The Good Son (the latter also featuring Morse and starring The Boy producer Elijah Wood). What starts off innocently enough as the story of a boy living with his motel-owning father years after being abandoned by his mother instantly becomes a shattering portrait of a twisted young mind. What makes Ted’s twistedness so fascinating is that in many ways he shares the same kind of curiosity that most kids his age have. And yet, it isn’t long before a number of unhinged, complex qualities become apparent. Ted’s fascination with death is especially interesting to watch thanks the the sheer morbidity of it, such as when he tauntingly says “I see you” to a dead moose’s head. Adding to the fright factor is that Ted’s actions aren’t showcased in a grandiose manner, but rather in quiet ways which literally make any audience member uncomfortably feel like they are alone with Ted.
None of Ted’s actions would ring as horrifying as they do were it not for the stellar atmosphere and tension director Craig William Macneill and company have so carefully constructed. There’s a desolate feel thanks to the vast mountainous setting which is incredibly maddening, while various shots of the motel only serve to amplify the eerie feeling of isolation. Additionally, it seems that virtually every angle and shot is so poetically infused that each frame comes off as a work of art. The late ’80s setting and absence of technology also helps a great deal in showing that the only outlet and companion Ted has is indeed his madness. Admittedly, The Boy is an incredibly slow moving offering. However this isn’t necessarily a film about plot, but rather mood and character.
It’s incredibly hard not to feel sympathy for Morse’s character who does everything he can for his son, having to serve as both parents. Morse has always been an actor who can so seamlessly enter the skin of any character he undertakes, and there’s no better example of that than his work here. Wilson is appropriately strange and mysterious as a drifter with a secret and proves simply fantastic in a role which is like nothing he’s played before. The true revelation here however is Breeze in the central role, who manages to say so much without physically saying anything at all. He doesn’t have to say he’s disturbed because he’s found a way to embody it naturally.
The Boy isn’t without its minuses, including a last act which strays from the creepy subtleness that came before, but still carries dynamic moments nonetheless. There’s an ushering out of the William character from the story which happens way too quickly, and the ending does hit things on the head to such an extreme. Yet none of these factors succeed in diminishing the power of what came before. Obvious allusions to Psycho aside, The Boy still manages to stand as its own tale of psychological horror.
The Package
There’s a behind the scenes featurette which sees the majority of cast and crew sharing their thoughts on the psychology of The Boy, with every participant giving thoughtful and insightful takes on the story.
The Lowdown
The Boy is an interesting look at how innocent childhood exploration and curiosity can gradually lead to a decidedly darker place.
The Boy is now available on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory.
