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The Boy(2016)
STX Entertainment Jan 22, 2016 | Wide
An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.
Releases
Original Release | Jan 22, 2016
Box Office
Results
$10,778,392
$35,819,556
$38,109,836
$73,929,392
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States,Canada,China
Language: English
Summaries
Plot Summary
- In the opening scene, we see Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan) riding in a traditional British taxi. The driveway leading to the house is secluded, with forest all around. The taxi driver knocks on the window, and she wakes with a start as she has fallen asleep during the drive. Greta gets out of the limousine and looks at the manor in awe. The limousine driver tells Greta he has already taken her things inside for her since she was asleep. He asks her to go inside and wait in the parlor before he gets in the taxi and drives off.Greta goes into the house and is about to go in before she figures she should take off her shoes. She sets them by the door and calls out. No one is in the parlor and no comes to greet her, but she hears a rustling upstairs so she decides to check it out. She hesitantly goes up the staircase a bit and calls out again. Along the stairs is a huge painted family portrait of the Heelshires. It's clear they are a very regal family.Hearing nothing, she moves on to a room filled with old-fashioned toys. She picks one up and laughs a bit before being completely startled by a noise behind her. It's Malcolm (Rupert Evans), standing at the doorway. Hes the grocery boy that comes weekly to bring produce for the Heelshires. They introduce each other, and he asks to have her help in packing the groceries away. They chat, and he's obviously already smitten by Greta, but she remains polite. We find out that Greta is an American, who has moved to the UK for the first time to work for the Heelshires.He tells her his grandma reads tea leaves, and his mother reads palms. When she asks what he reads, he replies "with gum." Playing along, she gives him the gum she's been chewing on. He makes a bad reading that doesn't impress her very much. He tries again with a second, saying that she is running from a bad past. This evidently hits close to home, as Greta instantly shutters. He tries to play it off, but Greta pushes past it and asks Malcolm what the Heelshires are like, as no one have made an appearance yet.He says they are nice enough and very generous. He starts to say something about Brahms, but he is stopped by the arriving of Mrs. Heelshire (Diana Hardcastle). She doesn't look kindly upon Greta and instantly notices her sock-clad feet. Greta says she left her shoes by the front and not wanting to displease Mrs. Heelshire, runs to get them.However, her shoes are gone. Mrs. Heelshire waves it off, saying Brahms likes to play. She asks Greta to put other shoes on, and they will meet the rest of the family. On the way, Mrs. Heelshire says she hopes that Greta works out because they have tried with other nannies in the past. She notes that Greta is much younger and prettier than the others, so hopefully Brahms will take a liking to her. Before arriving at the parlor, they can hear Mr. Heelshire talking softly to Brahms, telling him to behave. When Mr. Heelshire stands up, Greta sees that Brahms is just a life-like porcelain doll.They introduce her to Brahms, and she just stares disbelievingly at the doll before laughing, thinking its a joke. However, her amusement dies off upon the very serious looks of Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire. Malcolm, however, steps in and tells the Heelshires that their food is packed, and he will be back next week. He steps past Greta, and takes Brahmss doll hand and shakes it, telling him that he will see Brahms next week. Upon the interaction, Mrs. Heelshire smiles dotingly. Malcolm leaves, but not before shooting Greta a look that says just play along.Greta takes the dolls arm and says with a forced smile that she hopes they can be friends.Mrs. Heelshire shows Greta around the kitchen, saying that they never dispose of leftovers. They have a special area that they put in, some sort of portable fridge container off to the side. Mr. Heelshire takes her outside and tells her about the traps around they have to trap vermin. He doesn't think its necessary but tells her Mrs. Heelshire is worried about rats in the walls. He also mentions all the windows are painted shut, as in accidentally (but it doesn't sound like it). At the end of the walk, Mr. Heelshire has a very serious moment with Greta and tells her things are not always what they appear to the outside (or something like that). Its supposed to reassure her.In the study, Mrs. Heelshire says that music very important to Brahms. During all this, she holds and coddles the doll, which is off-putting to Greta. Mrs. Heelshire puts the needle on the record, and extremely loud operatic music plays. In the bedroom, Mrs. Heelshire tells her that Greta is to wake Brahms up at 7 am every day and to change him. She wants Greta to do it, but her movements are clumsy on account that its a doll.The family puts Brahms to bed. While Greta watches from the doorway, the Heelshires pray. Mrs. Heelshire turns to Greta and asks for privacy. Mr. Heelshire shuts the door on her. She can hear hushed talking from the two for a minute before the door abruptly opens. Mrs. Heelshire tells her with a tremulous smile, Brahms has chosen you.In her room, Greta talks to Sandy (a close friend or sister) from home. She explains the extremely creepy situation to her. Sandy agrees that it is weird but tells her to stick with it because Greta needs this second chance. This segues into Sandy saying that Cole stopped by her house again, demanding where Greta is. Greta panics a little but Sandy told her she didn't tell him anything. Obviously, someone from Greta's bad past.The next day, the Mr. Heelshire explains he and his wife are going away on a mini-vacation that they have wanted to go on for awhile, but couldn't since there wasn't a caregiver for Brahms. They tell Greta "it is very important that you follow these rules". They give Greta a printed schedule of activities to do throughout the day with Brahms, as well as the list of the rules.Some of them are:No guests (no boyfriends). Don't cover his face. Save meals in freezer. Dress him each morning. Never go in the attic. Help with studies. Never cover his face. Read a bedtime story. Play music loud. Never leave him alone. Clean the traps. Don't forget to feed him. Kiss goodnight.Before they go, Mrs. Heelshire hugs Greta and tears up, strangely whispering to her, "I'm sorry." As soon as they leave, Greta puts Brahms on a chair and apologizes before tossing a blanket over him.There is not much to do in the house, so Greta makes herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and pours some wine. She throws the food waste in the trash. She settles in the parlor to read some magazines. It starts pouring rain outside. She walks past the covered doll a few times when she refills her drink. She heads upstairs to go to bed and glances down the hall where the doll is, but this time, the blanket is off the doll. She's a bit unnerved and, annoyed at her reaction, roughly puts the doll in the bedroom and locks it.Greta goes to bed but wakes upon hearing what sounds like a child wailing. She takes a candle and goes downstairs to check it out. On the way, she stops to look at the portrait and focuses on Brahms's painted human face. She leans in close when an arm shoots out and reels her in.Greta wakes up in a sweat. It was just a nightmare. She hears the muted wailing noise again. She peers in the Brahms bedroom, and the doll is how she left it. She leans in close and sees the dolls cheek is wet, like tear tracks. Greta is officially freaked but notices water dripping on it from a ceiling leak. She laughs it off.She notices an attic in the ceiling when she goes out in the hallway and tries to open it with a large fire poker thing leaning against the wall but is unable to get the latch to come down. There's a knock on the door, and she leaves it be.It's Malcolm, apologizing and also bringing Greta's first week of pay in an envelope. She tells him she wishes he had warned her about the doll, but he tells her he doesn't even know how to explain it. They take a walk outside around the manor and Malcolm brings her to the actual Brahms' grave. He lived from 1983 to 1991. Malcolm says not much is known, but Brahms passed away during a fire on his 8th birthday. Soon after, the doll showed up, and Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire have been taking care of the doll this whole time. Greta feels immediate sympathy and notes that Brahms would be Malcolm's age had he lived. She says she can't believe that Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire have been living like this for 20 years. During all this, we get the impression that someone is watching them from the house.Malcolm invites her out of the house tonight to get away from the oppressive manor. Greta is unsure, stating she just got out of a thing (Cole), but Malcolm talks her into it. She agrees and they part ways to meet up later.Later, Greta starts to get ready picking out clothing while talking to Sandy. Sandy is happy she's moving on and tells her she needs this (opportunity). Greta mentions the doll's backstory and Sandy tells her again that she needs the money, which is really generous. Sandy reminders Greta that one week's pay is more than what Sandy makes in a week. Sandy also mentions Cole again and how persistent he is being. Sandy reveals that Cole asked Sandy's 10-year-old son where Greta is so he can write and apologize, and her kid told Cole where Greta is in the UK. Sandy apologizes, but Greta assures her she will not read anything from Cole. In Brahms room, we are focused on his porcelain face, and we realize he can hear everything as there is a system set up where the sound is amplified in his room so the doll can hear EVERYTHING.Greta is starting to get excited about going out. She sets a coral dress aside in the bathroom along with her necklace before stepping into the shower. As she showers, something removes the dress and pulls the necklace away. Greta gets out, wraps a towel around herself and looks in the mirror. She notices that one end of her hair is a little messed up. Before she can freak out about it too much, she sees that her things are gone. She rushes into her bedroom to see all her drawers opened and all her clothes gone. She hears something and spins around. The attic is open, and the stairs are down. She takes the fire poker thing resting on the side and goes up, clutching her towel. As soon as she makes it past, the ladder lurches up and the attic slams shut. She is unable to open it.She hears Malcolm's car pulling up and tries to get his attention. However, she is so far up he cannot hear her. She tries to make noise by banging the iron poker against the walls, but its far too muted for him to hear. She can barely see him through the thick wooden boards (remember every window is pretty covered up or shut). She keeps trying until he leaves. Dejectedly, she looks around a little in the dark before a figure pops up at her. She is so startled she falls back and knocks herself out. In the morning, Greta wakes. She goes around and sees that the figure that startled her was just a suit that is hanging against the wall. She also sees that the ladder is down and the door open.She calls Malcolm over to comb over the house. He looks at the attic stairs, and he barely touches it before it snaps upward and closes. He figures that's how she got trapped up there. They spend some time together and play some pool. They go to the study to talk where she asks more about what Brahms was like. Malcolm isn't entirely comfortable and tells Greta that there is people talk and pub talk and that the truth is somewhere in between.The people version is that Brahms was a very nice lad. The pub version is that Brahms was very, very off. Malcolm tells Greta about how one time he came over, it was actually Brahmss birthday. Mrs. Heelshire was opening presents with the Brahms doll while Mr. Heelshire was in the study, drinking heavily. Malcolm was heading to leave when Mr. Heelshire begs company with Malcolm. Mr. Heelshire was muttering about how he cant go on like this anymore (the doll thing). Malcolm took the opportunity to ask what Brahms, the actual Brahms, was like and Mr. Heelshire just replied with, odd.Malcolm wants her to leave again, but Greta assures him she is alright. He leaves for the night, and she heads to bed. She calls Sandy again and leaves a message for her to send more magazines or anything over as there's no internet, or TV or barely anything electronic in the manor. She hangs up, and the phone rings again immediately. Thinking it's Sandy calling back, she picks up instantly but just hears breathing. She hangs up, unnerved.The next day she goes through the motions and notices the doll in bed where she has left it all that time. The list of things that she's supposed to do daily with Brahms lays nearby. The phone suddenly rings outside, and when she answers it, she hears the same breathing. This time, there's a small tinny voice, like a child, calling her name and asking her to play. She starts crying and screaming, asking who this is! She hears footsteps and runs to her room and locks it. From the bottom of the floor, we see the porcelain feet walking across. Greta watches hysterically as she hears Brahms, asking her to come out. She sees something being placed down and after a while goes outside and sees it is a tray with a PB+J sandwich. She picks its up and starts laughing/crying hysterically. She looks across the Brahms' open room, where the doll now sits on a bed, facing her. She goes to the door and stares at it, and then looks at the list, now knowing what Brahms wants.Over the next couple of days, she takes care of Brahms. She talks to him and makes food for him (throwing it as instructed in the container). She plays his music and pretty much follows the list.We cut to the Heelshires on their trip. Mrs. Heelshire is writing a note to Brahms, apologizing for them leaving him. At the bottom of the letter, it says the girl is yours now. They head to a coastline, picking up rocks and putting it in their pockets. They walk, hand-in-hand, drowning themselves.One day, Malcolm comes over earlier than usual to deliver the food to check up on her. He notices the doll sitting at the table with them. He asks her out again and Greta glances over at the doll, thinking she better not. Malcolm takes it in stride and takes Brahms' hand and asks to take Greta out, also playing Brahms' approval in reply. Greta just looks and is not comfortable. She then starts to tell him that Brahms is HERE here. Malcolm doesn't believe her, and she takes him upstairs.Apparently, Greta has been experimenting. She places the doll in a sitting position on the ground in Brahms' room. She takes some chalk and erases her previous lines. She draws a rough outline around the doll. They head back to her room, and Malcolm still thinks its crazy. She says she got the idea from when he mentioned how Brahms in real life was extremely shy. So the doll will only move behind closed doors or out of sight. They wait a few beats. Greta knocks on the wall, and they go back to Brahms' room. The doll is exactly as she left it. Malcolm tells her its okay; he believes her.Greta wants to try one more time. She hugs the doll and tells him that she needs Malcolm to see it, so she will not be alone. She also says that she would have to go if he doesn't move and that she needs Brahms to do this for her. They go back to her room, and when they head back, the doll is gone. Malcolm is shocked.Greta is ecstatic that someone else is experiencing this and that she's not crazy. She hugs him elatedly, and they almost have a moment when she spots Brahms creepily staring at them from behind the door. She picks Brahms up and praises him for a job well down.Greta and Malcolm walk outside the grounds and have a talk. They figure it must be a spirit in the doll. Malcolm is still a bit disturbed, but Greta mentions that she understands the Heelshires more. She explains her past and her long relationship with Cole, who was sometimes abusive. She became pregnant but lost her baby when Cole got violent with her. So she can relate to the Heelshires because they lost a baby too. Malcolm comforts her, and they kiss. They go back inside to her room. They start kissing and lie down on the bed, presumably intending to make love. We something watching them through the keyhole and before things get really far, they hear music from another room interrupting them.They go downstairs and find the doll in the study. Greta figures he is not happy and puts him back to bed. Malcolm is unnerved. He talks to Greta about something 20 years ago that he held back because he didn't want to scare her. There was a girl that would play with Brahms every week. On the day of his death, the girl went missing while they were playing. Afterward, the house burned up, and Brahms died. They later found the girl's body in the woods, her skull completely crushed in. Malcolm isn't completely sure if the doll is holding a good guy ghost spirit. Greta knows Brahms wouldn't hurt her. She asks Malcolm go home for now (remember the No Guest rule?). While Greta puts Brahms to bed, she whispers, "You wouldn't hurt me, would you Brahms?"The next morning, Greta is making breakfast when she hears the billiard balls clacking from the study. She picks up Brahms and heads over, thinking its Malcolm. Its Cole! Greta tells him he shouldn't be here. He chides that he just wants to say hi to the kid. Greta clutches Brahms to her protectively, and Cole realizes its a doll and laughs. Greta admits that they pay her to take care of a doll. She makes dinner and seats Brahms with them. Cole talks about how he found her a job back home. He keeps trailing off by the doll's stare on him.Malcolm comes by, and he and Cole have a mini-standoff. Malcolm peels her away by asking her to look at the groceries. They talk about Cole, who should not stay here, as he will hurt her. Greta denies either would happen and tells him she will take care of it. Malcolm gives a curt goodbye to Cole and leaves. He doesn't leave, but parks outside a ways and keeps watch.Greta brings blankets and pillows for him which Cole takes to mean he won't be sleeping in her bed. Before she leaves, Cole holds her painfully and tells her hes not letting her go again. He expects her packed by the morning and that they are leaving. Greta tears up and leaves.Greta puts Brahms to bed, hugging him. She whispers tearfully that she needs his help before she goes to bed and falls asleep. Cole wakes in the middle of the night to blood dripping on his head. He wakes up and yells for Greta. She comes downstairs and sees a bunch of the rat carcasses from the traps and a bloody message written on the walls above that says 'Get Out'.Cole thinks Greta did it, which she vehemently denies it. They then spot the doll in the corner, and she runs to him, saying "Brahms! What did you do?!"Cole is angry and grabs the doll. Greta backtracks and now tries to tell Cole it was her that did it. Cole seems to believe the doll had something to do with it, especially because hes been disturbed out by it from the start. Malcolm hears the commotion and runs in to see what is going on. He sees Cole waving the doll around. Greta is frantic, and they both try to grab the doll away from Cole.Cole eventually smashes the doll into the ground on purpose, shattering it into pieces. Immediately, the walls start shaking and the house starts "groaning". All three of them begin to panic. Malcolm wants to leave, but Cole shushes him. Cole puts his ear against a mirror on the wall, following the noise as it quiets.Suddenly, the mirror shatters and something bursts from the walls. It is a huge figure with a porcelain mask over his face. Malcolm concludes it must be Brahms, who never died in the fire, but Greta can't believe it. Brahms immediately goes for knocked down Cole. Malcolm and Greta try to stop him, but Brahms knocks them both aside and stabs Cole in the neck with a shard from the broken doll. Brahms tries to drag Greta away but Malcolm knocks him down and gets Greta up and they flee..Greta and Malcolm head to the front door, which is blocked off by Brahms. He is finding quicker routes to possible escape routes. They run upstairs to hide in her room, locking the door. Brahms stands at the doorway. Greta finds a panel in the wall, and they both go through a pathway in the walls. Greta finds some stairs that lead up and into some small room beside the attic. It is OLD and has a fridge and very rough living accommodations. There's a patchwork, life-size figure on the bed which is a fabric doll wearing Greta's missing coral dress, along with her jewelry and the head has her locks attached to it.We now realize the truth, which is that Brahms never died. He's psychotic (probably since even before murdering the girl). He has been living in the walls for 20 years, and Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire has been enabling everything in order to keep their son. They used to interact with him through the doll.Greta finds the letter written by Mrs. Heelshire and realizes that they were leaving her to take care of him forever. She is hysterical, realizing the adult Brahms was watching her every movement while Malcolm keeps trying to find another path out. He finds one, and has Greta go through first while Brahms bursts through. There's a part where they have crawled through, but there's a hatch that leads outside! Brahms follows through, holding a bigger shard in his hand and Malcolm tells Greta to move on. Greta doesn't want to leave him, but he runs at Brahms to hold him off. Brahms is huge and overpowers Malcolm. He smashes his fist in Malcolm's head, and Malcolm is knocked out. Brahms heads towards Greta, telling her in a small child voice for her to stay. She finally gets it open and leaps through. Brahms can't catch up due to the part where he has to crawl and screams after her, now in a more adult voice, to get back her and that if she doesn't stay he will finish off Malcolm and kill him like he did everyone else(Cole,the girl and the nannies he "rejected")!Greta runs and makes it towards the gates before she stops and turns back. She is facing her abuser, and she wants to save Malcolm. She heads to the door and pockets a long letter opener she finds. She goes towards Cole's dead body where Brahms is standing. The mask completely covers his face except his eyes and large tufts of facial hair is visible around it.Greta tells Brahms she told him she would come back and she would never leave, so she is keeping her promise. Brahms reaches for her and Greta stops him still when she uses her nanny voice, telling Brahms its time for bed. It triggers something in him, and he follows obediently. She puts him in bed, and he whispers, Kiss but she retreats, saying "no kiss" as his punishment. She pulls away, and he grabs her and says kiss again, a bit more forcibly. She haltingly presses her lips to the porcelain mask and Brahms starts to pull her closer. She takes the letter opener and stabs Brahms in the stomach. He recoils and throws her off him on the wall. He immediately starts to strangle her and Greta almost passes out, but she manages to grip the letter opener and push it in more. Brahms collapses, and Greta runs past him to the hidden pathways to see if Malcolm is okay. Part of Brahms mask is shattered, and we see the burned skin underneath.Malcolm is alive and wakes with some large contusions on his face. She gets him out of there, and they drive off from Heelshire manor.The final shot cuts to someone painstakingly piecing the doll back together. Brahms is still alive, presumably. He then looks into the camera, whole - as if none of this ever happened.The End
Storyline
- Greta, a young American woman, takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village and discovers that the family's 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years ago. When she violates a list of strict rules, her worst nightmare is brought to life by a series of disturbing, inexplicable events and she comes to believe that the doll is alive. — STX Entertainment Greta Evans, a young American from Montana, is hired as a nanny by the Heelshires. When she arrives in their small town in the United Kingdom, the elderly couple show Greta her charge: a porcelain doll named Brahms that they treat like their son. They then close the doors behind them so that they can ask Brahms if he wants Greta as his babysitter. The old couple come out and say that Brahms agreed despite having "rejected" many previous babysitters. Over the next day, the couple coach Greta on taking care of Brahms and their house, leave her a list of rules to follow, then leave 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. Initially, Greta ignores the rules about the doll and follows her own routine. She regularly calls her sister Sandy, who tells her that her abusive ex-boyfriend Cole has been trying to find out where she is.. Eager to break free from her dark past, young Greta Evans flies across the pond after landing a job as a nanny at the Heelshires' isolated mansion somewhere in the English countryside. Once there she realizes that pain and grief can lead to strange paths, as her silver-haired employers need her to look after Brahms, the eerily lifelike porcelain doll they treat as their son. At first glance, this is a simple task, but she still must follow a very specific set of inflexible rules. Before long, as Greta pays no attention to the strict guidelines, bizarre things begin to happen, and an intangible but ominous presence haunts the manor's dark corridors. Is Greta starting to lose her grip on reality? What is the well-hidden secret of the cryptic Heelshire family? — Nick Riganas Elderly couple Heelshire prepares for a long-awaited holiday by welcome handsomely paid nanny Greta Evans, a broke US airhead fleeing her abusive ex Cole, for their pre-teen son Brahms. She promises to follow instructions despite finding it's a porcelain doll, and ignores it lazily once the owners leave her alone in the spooky, stately lonesome home. Her only regular visitor is local grocer Malcolm, who delivers supplies and seeks company like she. Strange, sometimes scary things keep happening, which she finally believes the work of the doll, which she henceforth obsessively minds, even neglecting patient, ever-helpful Malcolm, whom she shows the oddities and learns from about the late real Brahms's alleged dark side. His discrete vigilance proves vital at the surprise arrival of Cole, who plans to drag her back to the States, but an even greater surprise awaits them all. — KGF Vissers
