The Boy
STX Entertainment | Release Date: January 22, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
6
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
TheWrapInkoo KangJan 22, 2016
Nearly free of gore, the film taps into the deep and always welcome vein of the opulently bizarre things that rich, emotionally stunted people get into when they’ve got too much money. Stacey Menear’s script is careful and clever about revealing what Brahms really is, for he’s certainly got a mind and will of his own. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyChristian HolubJan 27, 2016
The Boy, from director William Brent Bell, aims to set itself squarely in the fictional canon of "Chucky" and its brethren, but it ends up trying to do so much that it forgets to scare us. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJan 23, 2016
It still has enough scary moments to satisfy horror fans, but you’re left wondering whether it might have been more disturbing had it stayed on its original path. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJan 22, 2016
Stacey Menear's screenplay doesn't manage to sustain its clever premise, with the final act featuring a banal and formulaic revelation that unfortunately takes what had been a spooky haunted house tale into familiar slasher movie territory. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJan 21, 2016
At least, maybe The Boy can lead some novices to better, more original horror movies. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 27, 2016
The Boy’s overriding concern is telegraphed enough in advance that fans of Gothic suspense will almost certainly have guessed it 45 minutes in. Read full review
40
VarietyJoe LeydonJan 21, 2016
Despite the assiduous grinding of plot mechanics by William Brent Bell (“The Devil Inside”) and scripter Stacey Menear, the movie never fully distracts its audience from the inherent silliness of its premise...and, as a result, is more likely to elicit laughs and rude remarks rather than screams and rooting interest. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJan 23, 2016
It’s more rote than revelatory, and the possibility of a sequel in the final shot plays more like a threat than a promise. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiJan 22, 2016
If only writer Stacey Menear and director William Brent Bell took the very real horrors of domestic abuse as seriously as they do the virtual horror of paranormal activity. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 27, 2016
Is it a spoiler to refer to the coda of thriller The Boy as the clumsiest cop out in recent horror history? Read full review
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