Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- austere
- foreboding
- late night horror viewing
- slow burn horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's atmospheric dread, restrained direction, composition, and performances while finding its grave slow-burn pacing uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ted Henley is presented as a budding serial killer whose isolated upbringing and behavior drive the film's dread.
The remote motel, grave performances, and measured escalation create a bleak, atmospheric sense of menace.
Ted's conduct and interactions foreshadow increasingly violent consequences while the adults remain vulnerable to his apparent innocence.
The desert motel is a remote, sparsely visited outpost populated by drifters and wayward characters.
Films like The Boy, and why
The Good Son
austere psychological horror, isolated setting, and disturbing portrait of a dangerous child
We Need to Talk About Kevin
atmospheric rural dread, bleak family dynamics, and suspense centered on a young sociopath
The Night of the Hunter
slow-building psychological menace, sparse landscapes, and grim criminal behavior
Mikey
killer-child premise, brooding tone, and restrained horror rather than conventional slasher spectacle
Movie Details
- Director
- Craig William Macneill
- Release Date
- 2015-08-14
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (223)
Cast
- David Morse
- Rainn Wilson
- Emma Breeze
- Bill Sage
- Mike Vogel
- Zuleikha Robinson
- Aiden Lovekamp
- David Valencia
- Andrés Echavarría
- Amalia Santa Maria
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Boy about?
- A remote motel becomes the bleak proving ground for a boy whose sociopathic impulses are developing into serial murder.
- What is The Boy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Boy as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Boy violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Boy as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Boy?
- Critics broadly praised the film's atmospheric dread, restrained direction, composition, and performances while finding its grave slow-burn pacing uneven.
- Which films are like The Boy?
- Films with a similar feel include The Good Son, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Night of the Hunter, and Mikey.
- How long is The Boy?
- The Boy runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Boy?
- In United States, The Boy is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
