Plot

Greta Evans, a young American from Montana, is hired as a nanny by the Heelshires, an elderly couple. Upon her arrival in their small town in the UK, the Heelshires show Greta her charge: a porcelain doll named Brahms whom they treat like their son. They then ask Brahms in private if he wants Greta as babysitter. The old couple then tell Greta that Brahms has agreed despite having “rejected” many previous babysitters. Over the next day, the couple coach Greta on taking care of Brahms and their house, and give her a list of rules to follow, before leaving for a holiday. The rules include speaking louder than usual when reading a book to Brahms, leaving food out on the table and not throwing it away, and setting up rat traps.

Greta ignores the rules about the doll at first and does what she pleases instead. She regularly calls her sister Sandy, who tells her that her abusive ex-boyfriend Cole has been trying to find out where she is. Seemingly supernatural events also occur — like Brahms appearing in different positions.

The local grocery dealer, Malcolm, stops by to deliver groceries, and Greta learns that the real Brahms was killed in a fire 20 years ago on his eighth birthday. Greta accepts Malcolm’s offer to show her the town, and prepares for the date, but her dress and jewelry disappear while she’s in the shower, and she is lured into the attic by strange noises and is then locked in.

She’s mysteriously let out the next morning. She explains to Malcolm what happened, and they briefly discuss the real Brahms, whom Malcolm said Mr. Heelshire once described as “odd.”

Strange things begin to happen – a child’s sobs are heard in the hallways, phone calls are cut off, and the doll seems to move on its own, vanishing and reappearing elsewhere in the house. After receiving a phone call in which a child’s voice urges her to follow the rules, Greta locks herself in her room. She later finds a peanut butter and jelly sandwich outside her door…

Memorable Lines

Greta Evans: You wouldn’t hurt me, would you, Brahms?

****

Mr. Heelshire: Be good to him and he will be good to you.

****

Malcolm: Okay, I see that you’re… a writer from… Phoenix, Montana. You’ve come here to be inspired by the English countryside and to get away from the hustle and bustle of your life in the U.S. of A.
Greta Evans: No.
Malcolm: Close.
Greta Evans: Um… not at all. No.

****

Thoughts from the HauntedHouses.com team

“The Boy” is wonderfully stylized and paced similarly to the spooky, suspenseful and disturbing ’60s British made thrillers like Betty Davis’ “The Nanny”and Debra Kerr’s “The Innocents” — only with an added surprise ending and a faster pace.

It is a very maturely written, photographed and acted movie, reminiscent of a really good Twilight Zone episode that gradually unfolds as it goes, revealing layers of mystery — why would an elderly couple care so tenderly for a life-size boy doll? What is the history of this strange, tortured family?

When it comes, the end will allow you to fill in the blanks, which is the best way to tell a story as far as we’re concerned. It doesn’t explain everything, and that’s how we like it.

We think that, IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores aside, The Boy will come to be seen as a classic as time goes on, the way “The Orphan” has — they are both odd and unique thrillers.

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