Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The film centers on Ted (Jared Breeze) an overly bored 9 year boy who lives alone with his dad (David Morse). They run a motel that has seen better days. Ted stays busy "baiting" the roadway and getting paid a bounty for roadkill. He has developed an unhealthy fascination about death. We later find out his goal is to be united with his mother, somewhere in Florida.The film is an interesting character study as we wonder about the near sociopath nature of Ted arising from the desire for companionship and not being able to achieve it. Guests pop in and out from time to time and Ted manages to maintain an unacceptable relationship with the guests, spurned on by his frustration and desire.Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

The main reason I decided to check this movie out was because it has Rainn Wilson in it. I liked his performances in a lot of the movies he is in, even the ones that aren't so good. This time around he takes on a way more serious role in a serious and psychological movie. This is a film that delves into the inner demons of a boy and the environment he is brought up in. This is however a slow-burn of a movie, with it not appearing to have a direction most of the way through. So yeah, the build up can bore the hell out of audiences that doesn't have the patience and focus for a film such as this. It's a low budget indie film that is more focused on the build up than having a actual sense of direction. Which would be fine if it was somewhat engaging. It does get engaging when the frustration of the boy and his feeling of being alone and caged in start to really kick in. But it takes a very very long time to get to that point. The rest just seems quite pointless, despite the boring raw dialogues. I did however liked how it blends in the interpretation of being bad and being misunderstood. Because you as the audience will try to grasp as to what really going on in the mind of the boy in this film. For a very slow burn movie such as this, 2 hours may take a toll on your patience but I personally thought it was a alright watch. I just wouldn't ever see it again.5.8/10

First, let me say that this is not a horror picture. It isn't a slasher picture. It's a good psychological thriller. I think some of the bad reviews were because it was made by a film company specializing in such movies. Second, Elijah Wood made an excellent first effort in producing this film. I consider it equal, if not a little better than the Good Son, Elijah's psychological thriller. That picture also starred the excellent David Morse. Jered Breeze is a revelation and has a good future in film if he chooses it.Ted Henley, the protagonist plays a nuanced sociopath. He doesn't kill animals, even his pet rabbit. He's an average boy in a desolate motel on a lonely highway that was probably cut off by an interstate. His father is drowning in his regrets and barely takes notice of his son. His father did seem to provide some motive for Ted's behavior. Near the end, Ted had quickly graduated into a proficient mass murdered with carefully chosen words to deflect attention away from him. Rainn Wilson skillfully plays a similar character in William Colby who set up as the fall guy.I find it interesting that the writer chose 1989 to shoot this in. That was probably the last year when land-line phones were still in use and cell phones weren't commonly used. Ted had no video games and no Internet to occupy him. Just a TV with over-the- air broadcasting. It would have made no sense to make it contemporary and writer wisely chose wisely no to do so.In short it was a very good drama made by new people, except Woods, and a tight budget. I'll wait for it's promised sequel.

The first and most important thing to remember if you'd like to watch The Boy without succumbing to boredom (in my opinion) is that it isn't actually a Horror film (at least not the way most of us have been made used to). Far from it. No eerie atmosphere, no jump- scares or "boo!" moments, no unnecessary gore (thank God for that), and pretty much nothing that appeals to the basic human physiology. I kept on waiting for something (anything) to actually happen, for the plot to become compelling or in any way interesting to watch... Unfortunately, I had to wait until the end of the film to realize I've wasted my time on account of not watching it right (if there even is such a thing).First of all, the acting is great. I've been a David Morse fan ever since I've seen him in The Rock (and of course Green Mile) and later in his guest appearance in House. This role has obviously been more challenging, as the character of "the father" is supposed to invoke both empathy and disgust. Rain Wilson also does a great job as "the stranger". However, as always, I've been most impressed with young Jared Breeze as "the boy". It's alway lovely seeing talent at such a young age! His character is nonchalant, unexcited, and unimpressed, just as it should be.The Boy doesn't show you a sociopath on a killing spree. It shows you a human being, or better phrased - a sociopath attempting to fake humanity. Even during times of extreme emotion, Breeze's body language shows that he's doing what he's "supposed" to do as a human being. Whether he's happy, frustrated, having fun or throwing a fit - it seems he's always feeling 50% less than we would, especially as children.The Boy is a psychological film, not a thriller, definitely not Horror. Towards the ending, when the darkest sides of the characters unfold, the story becomes a lot more compelling as we are exposed to the gravity of the conclusion due to the turn of events. I can honestly say I was deeply impressed with Craig William Macneill's creation here, but did not really enjoy it. This is a film for "thinkers" and cinema students, and I simply wanted a good scare.