Tweet
Released by: Scream Factory
Released on: March 1, 2016
Director: Craig William Macneill
Cast: David Morse, Jared Breeze, Rainn Wilson, Bill Sage, Mike Vogel, Zuleikha Robinson
Year: 2015
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
In his feature directorial debut, The Boy, Craig William Macneill explores the dark catacombs of the childhood ID and the consequences wrought on a father and his secluded motel in the middle of an unnamed desert. Pre-adolescent Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) lives a mostly uneventful life with his dad, John Henley (David Morse), at the family's Mt. Vista motel (the film was shot in Colombia). Ted passes his time fixing up the rooms for his father and collecting dead animals. Late one night, a nomadic drifter named William Coby (Rainn Wilson) crashes his car into a deer but survives the accident with a minor head injury. The Henleys lodge Coby in one of their vacant rooms to give him time to rest and recover. Coby develops a peculiar bond with Ted but has little idea of what he has gotten himself into.
For Ted the loss of a central maternal figure looms large in his conscience. Ted reads from an old postcard that his mother sent him from Florida while he was very young. Ted even asks Coby if he can accompany him on a trek to the Sunshine State. Macneill utilizes the Scope format to display the physical and emotional distance Ted feels for his unbending father. The wide aerial views of Ted and the desert punctuate a barren, desolate landscape that the mischievous boy longs to flee from. The movie's third act reaches an explosive climax when Ted decides to take matters into his own hands. The perverse fascination that Ted has for a deer's antlers is akin to the fetishistic attachment Alan Strang has for a horse's mouth in Peter Shaffer's Equus (sans the religious overtones). Viewers will long ponder if Ted's "crown" is indeed a stand-in for the devil's horns. The Boy is the first installment of a planned trilogy charting Ted's life.
Scenarist Clay McLeod Chapman based his screenplay on the chapter, "The Henley Road Motel," from his novel, Miss Corpus. The movie originated from Macneill's short film, Henley (2011). The Boy was also the first feature film produced by Chiller Films and co-produced by Elijah Wood's SpectreVision. Viewers of Gregg Araki's The Mysterious Skin should recognize Bill Sage as Sheriff Deacon White. (Sage delivered a memorable performance as the twisted baseball coach in Araki's eponymous adaptation of Scott Heim's novel.) Breeze gives an outstanding performance as Ted, channeling the boy's precocity, curiosity, and inner rage. Macneill seems in total command of his work's image and sound, maintaining a creepy atmosphere and imminent sense of dread.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Scream Factory gives The Boy a nearly spotless transfer. The movie is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (the back/slip cover incorrectly states 1.78:1) with an AVC encode on this BD50. Black levels, especially night scenes, are deep and look rock solid. Contrast is excellent throughout. I only noticed one tiny black speckle crop up during a daylight scene. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track exhibits an impressive array of natural sounds in the Colombian wilderness. German composer Volker Bertelmann's (aka Hauschka) experimental score is key to underlining the film's ominous and foreboding tones. The film's diegetic period songs nicely envelop the front and surround channels. Scream provides English SDH for the main feature.
The sole extra is an EPK behind-the-scenes featurette (15:13) containing interviews with three producers and three cast members.
The Final Word:
The Boy is both imaginative and inventive. It represents a high watermark in indie horror. Scream Factory delivers nearly impeccable visuals and sonics. More supplements would have been appreciated. The movie earns a strong recommendation.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
