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The Boy

The Boy

Drama · Horror · Thriller · 2015

An intimate portrait of a 9 year old sociopath as he discovers his taste for killing.

Movie details

The Boy

“Evil Always Begins Somewhere.”

2015 Drama · Horror · Thriller 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

An intimate portrait of a 9 year old sociopath as he discovers his taste for killing.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Boy?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us

Drama · 2012

Set in a 19th century village, a young man studying under a local doctor joins a team of hunters on the trail of a wolf-like creature.

Baby Blues

Baby Blues

Drama · 2008

On a secluded family farm, a mother suffers a psychotic break due to postpartum depression, forcing the eldest son to protect his sibling from the mother they have always known and loved.

Last Straw

Last Straw

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A rural roadside diner becomes the host of a maniacal killing spree – leaving a young waitress to clean up the mess. After hard-headed Nancy fires the staff at her dad’s diner, she decides to cover the last shift of the night by herself. Little does she know, she is far from alone. The day is coming back to haunt her and when things begin to spiral out of control, she must fight for her life over the course of one long night.

Psycho II

Psycho II

Horror · 1983

Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?

Gerald's Game

Gerald's Game

Horror · 2017

When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

Night of the Hunted

Night of the Hunted

Horror · 2023

When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.

Sleepwalkers

Sleepwalkers

Horror · 1992

Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are the last of a dying breed whose needs are not of this world. They are Sleepwalkers - able to stay alive only by feeding on the life-force of the innocent, but destined to roam the earth, avoiding discovery while searching for their next victim. That search takes them to the sleepy little town of Travis, Indiana, where beautiful teenager Tanya Robertson is about to become an unwilling pawn in their nightmarish fight for survival.

Bone Lake

Bone Lake

Horror · 2025

A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.

The Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left

Crime · 2009

When athletic teen Mari Collingwood opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family's remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget.

Black Butterfly

Black Butterfly

Thriller · 2017

Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Craig William Macneill

Written by

Clay McLeod Chapman · Craig William Macneill

David Morse

David Morse

John

Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson

William Colby

E

Emma Breeze

Ted Henley

Bill Sage

Bill Sage

Sheriff Deacon Whit

Mike Vogel

Mike Vogel

Dad

Zuleikha Robinson

Zuleikha Robinson

Mom

Aiden Lovekamp

Aiden Lovekamp

Ben

Court is in session

Put The Boy on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.