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The Boy

Play trailer 1:01 Poster for The Boy PG-13 2016 1h 37m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
31% Tomatometer 64 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A young American named Greta (Lauren Cohan) takes a job as a nanny for an 8-year-old boy in a remote English village. To her surprise, Greta learns that the child of her new employers is a life-size doll. They care for the doll as if it was human, which helps the couple to cope with the death of their own son 20 years earlier. When Greta violates a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring her worst fears to life, leading her to believe that the doll is alive.
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The Boy

The Boy

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Critics Consensus

The Boy could have gone in any number of scary or interesting directions, but instead settles for usual jump scares scattered throughout a pedestrian plot.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com 08/16/2016
2/4
While I can't say what transpires ends up making The Boy a bad film, it does have the unfortunate effect of making it a less interesting one. Go to Full Review
Scott Tobias Uproxx 08/16/2016
With a little more courage and a lot more craft, Brahms could have been the next Chucky or Annabelle. Instead the little creep is as harmless as a rag doll. Go to Full Review
Roxana Hadadi Chesapeake Family Magazine 08/02/2016
1/5
The doldrums of January horror continue with The Boy, another subpar genre offering. Go to Full Review
Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh 05/12/2023
3/5
Forgettable in a way that many PG-13 horror movies are, but just weird enough to set it apart from the crowd. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 04/22/2022
3/4
In an age where Hollywood is obsessed with demonic spirit possessions, poltergeists, and other ghostly hauntings, The Boy is a refreshing change of pace with fine acting and an effective production. Go to Full Review
Grant Watson Fiction Machine 02/01/2021
5/10
While The Boy has a nicely creepy atmosphere and tone, it rarely undertakes anything that has not been done before. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Nov 25 screw you Greta I'll take care of the doll <3 See more Tauhid E Oct 24 this movie gave me scratches video game vibes. See more stefan C Oct 6 One of the Scariest movies ive ever seen! See more Lise T @Tipou9 Sep 26 Disjointed mess. Lost an hour and a half. See more Ale C Sep 4 I think this is a very underrated film. The plotwist is INSANE and i would have never expect it. Its so fun because even after the movie you will always think this could happen in real life and you wonder thats why your milk is half empty when you bought it the same day. I do recommend it See more Tyler M Aug 21 This movie is so underrated, I love the story and the background of the doll. The twist at the end in my opinion was refreshing from the rest of the “haunted doll” genre of movies. Would highly recommend giving it a watch. See more Read all reviews
The Boy

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Movie Info

Synopsis A young American named Greta (Lauren Cohan) takes a job as a nanny for an 8-year-old boy in a remote English village. To her surprise, Greta learns that the child of her new employers is a life-size doll. They care for the doll as if it was human, which helps the couple to cope with the death of their own son 20 years earlier. When Greta violates a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring her worst fears to life, leading her to believe that the doll is alive.
Director
William Brent Bell
Producer
Jim Wedaa, Roy Lee, Matt Berenson, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright
Screenwriter
Stacey Menear
Distributor
STX Entertainment
Production Co
Vertigo, STX Entertainment, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Violence and Terror|Some Thematic Material)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 22, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$35.8M
Runtime
1h 37m
Sound Mix
Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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