{"id":11927,"date":"2016-05-06T20:30:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-07T03:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=11927"},"modified":"2016-05-06T20:30:46","modified_gmt":"2016-05-07T03:30:46","slug":"review-boy-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/05\/review-boy-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Boy BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>The Boy<\/em><\/strong> was a tad better than I expected but not by much. The performance by Lauren Cohan might be one of the better aspects as the screenplay could\u2019ve used further development and a third act that was painfully bad, though it is a step up for William Brent Bell over his previous film, The Devil Inside<\/em> (take that for what you will).<\/p>\n

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The Boy<\/span>
\n(2016)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Suspense Thriller, Horror
\nUniversal | PG13 \u2013 98 min. \u2013 $34.98 | May 10, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 05\/06\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman
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<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>William Brent Bell
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Stacey Menear (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>None
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>28.9 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 2.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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When I heard The Boy<\/em><\/strong> was directed by the same person as The Devil Inside<\/em>, let\u2019s just say it didn\u2019t give me much hope. On the one hand, The Boy<\/em><\/strong> was a better movie. On the other, The Devil Inside<\/em> was utter crap so that\u2019s not saying very much. In all seriousness, if this were an episode of \u201cThe Twilight Zone\u201d or \u201cTales from the Crypt\u201d (if either shows were still around), it\u2019d might\u2019ve made for a serviceable story. As a feature, it meanders around and while some of the funny scenes worked, the creepy ones didn\u2019t and they were instead unintentionally comical, though there was some atmosphere built, just that the follow-through failed.<\/p>\n

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Greta Evans (LAUREN COHAN) is a young woman who has moved from the States to the UK, taking a job for what she thought was babysitting a boy. Upon her arrival to a vast, but beautiful, estate and after meeting the parents (JIM NORTON, DIANA HARDCASTLE) she discovers their \u201cson\u201d, Brahms. She gets a tour of the estate, the choirs and duties of her job that includes making meals, reading, put on music, putting to bed and dressing Brahms while the parents leave on holiday for a few months. Greta\u2019s only access to the outside world is a landline (no cell phone service) and a man named Malcolm (RUPERT EVANS) who delivers groceries once a week and gives her the 411 on the doll, that the real Brahms perished in a fire decades before.<\/p>\n

With television and no radio, she spends her days reading magazines sent by her friend back home. During this lull, as an audience we learn more of her background: traveling overseas to escape an abusive ex-boyfriend. But just as she\u2019s settled into a boring daily routine, strange things begin to happen from clothes going missing and getting trapped in an attic, Clark Griswold style.<\/p>\n

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As time progresses, and some romantic feelings with Malcolm develops, the oddities only ramp up and little by little Greta begins to believe that maybe \u2013 just maybe \u2013 this doll may indeed be possessed by Brahms\u2019s spirit.<\/p>\n

I thought the performances weren\u2019t terrible, albeit there are only five major characters, headlined by Lauren Cohan, best known for her role on \u201cThe Walking Dead,\u201d serving well as a leading horror genre lady and she shares some nice chemistry with Rupert Evans. To be fair, the script isn\u2019t taxing on their talents yet I still found the two to be likeable and at least make the film itself to be sufficient enough in the entertainment department; for sure teen audiences probably will dig the film.<\/p>\n

Directed by William Brent Bell, whose last turn in the chair was the abysmal, and incomplete, The Devil Inside<\/em>, The Boy<\/em><\/strong> at least was a passable little horror-thriller that showcases some decent atmosphere set in an unnamed English countryside. Having said that, the first two-thirds of the film is rather dull in spots and we get two terrible jump scares contained within a nightmare. Then the last third blatantly steals (or heavily borrows) from other movies, heck I remember the twist done on an episode of \u201cCSI\u201d for cripes sake…<\/p>\n

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In the end, The Boy<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t a very good movie but it\u2019s hardly terrible either. There\u2019s just enough to keep one entertained and even with a lame third act it might be worth a rental but that\u2019s about it; otherwise this is the type of movie that could air, mostly unedited, on SyFy.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Well, this release comes with a matted, title-embossed slip cover<\/strong> and redemption code for the Digital HD<\/u><\/strong> copy but that\u2019s it, no features were included…<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Universal Studios Home Entertainment brings The Boy<\/em><\/strong> to life presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The movie itself doesn\u2019t quite \u201cpop\u201d off the screen given how darkly lit it is (even daylight, outdoor scenes) but still detail is relatively sharp, there\u2019s some nice film grain and no noticeable instances of artifacts, aliasing or banding. Even the really dark shots showcase a nice starkness to them making for a visually pleasing picture.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The disc comes with a nice DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that helps amp up the atmosphere in conjunction with Bear McCreary\u2019s low-key but suspense-filled score. Dialogue levels sound clear through the center channel while ambient noises make the most out of the rear speakers. It\u2019s nothing I\u2019d call reference quality but nevertheless an impressive sounding lossless track especially considering 2\/3rds of the film was more suspense build-up before the action in act three.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 1.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Overall, The Boy<\/em><\/strong> was a tad better than I expected but not by much. The performance by Lauren Cohan might be one of the better aspects as the screenplay could\u2019ve used further development and a third act that was painfully bad, though it is a step up for William Brent Bell over his previous film, The Devil Inside<\/em> (take that for what you will). The Blu-ray released by Universal is pretty basic with no features except the video\/audio transfers which are well done.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n