T

he Boy is a horror movie that has all the features to scare occasional horror moviegoers and teenagers but for seasoned fans of the genre it is likely to be a cliché-filled, easily forgettable experience.

Creepy looking dolls have always been one of the most commonly used elements in horror movies. Some of these dolls have gained legendary status over the years, such as the Chucky doll from the Child'€™s Play franchise, the vengeful and slashing doll from the Friday the 13th television serials back in the 1990s and recently The Conjuring introduced us to the sinister Annabelle doll.

In The Boy, director William Brent Bell introduces us to the Brahms doll. The doll belongs to an elderly English couple '€“ the Heelshires (Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle), who treat it as their own son, who shared the same name as the doll and according to his parents perished when he was eight during a fire that at their giant mansion.

An American nanny, Greta (Lauren Cohan, whom we all know from The Walking Dead serials), who is escaping from her dark past and abusive boyfriend back in Montana, somehow manages to find her way to the United Kingdom and land a job at the Heelshire'€™s mansion in the remote country side.

At first, Greta thought that she would be taking care of a real eight-year old boy so she unintentionally makes a bad first impression with the Heelshires when she bursts into laughter after being introduced to their creepy looking porcelain doll, Brahms.

Despite the bad first impression, the Heelshires agree to hire Greta as Brahms, the doll, tells them that it likes the new beautiful looking nanny.

The Heelshires then leave on what they say is a long-delayed holiday and leave Greta with the doll alone in the daunting old English mansion. She is given a note of Brahms'€™ daily schedule, which she is told she must heed or the doll will start acting out and throwing tantrums.

Greta, as expected, does not comply with the note as she believes that the doll is only an instrument used by the elderly couple to cope with the death of their only son a long time ago.

Strange things then begin to take place within the mansion: Objects suddenly move, the doll often changes position and trap doors suddenly open.

With the help of Malcolm (Rupert Evans), a handsome delivery man who occasionally delivers daily food stocks to the Heelshires, Greta tries to make sense of everything that has been happening inside the house.

Despite Greta'€™s best efforts to make sense of the strange occurrences, the only conclusion that she can come to is that the doll is haunted and she must comply with the note to stop the disturbances. Malcolm, on the other hand, is not so sure it is that simple or that the spirit that possesses the doll, if there is one, is good or bad.

Most of the scary scenes in The Boy take place within the mansion. To be fair, Bell manages to keep them exciting albeit unoriginal to be honest.

The scenes involve typical horror movie scare tactics, such as dark shadows that fly across a mirror, among others. These might be able to frighten teenagers and people who rarely watch horror but they will not be anything new for hardcore fans of the genre.

Meanwhile, the actors in The Boy deserve a thumbs up for their believable acting and ability to add colorful layers to their characters.

Cohan manages to depict a hardened yet fragile female protagonist who tries her best to escape her dark past while at the same time making amends by taking on the important role of caring for Brahms as a way to redeem herself of a past mistake that cost her own unborn child.

Evans provides an excellent character who will charm and entertain audiences with his occasional goofy yet sweet demeanor as he tries to gain Greta'€™s attention and affection. His character in The Boy is completely different to his role in 2014 British horror The Canal and it is a delightful experience to see the other side of his acting repertoire.

In conclusion, The Boy is not a bad horror movie but it is not great either. The final third act of the movie also heavily diminishes the scare value of the overall narrative.

The Boy will be able to make your heart pound during scary scenes but it will not be frightening enough to give you the chills as you go through dark places several days after watching it. It is this that differentiates movies such as The Boy from the legendary horror classics, such as the original version of The Exorcist, which are able to haunt their audiences with the occasional nightmare decades after they have watched them.