Lazy writing and sub-par scares wreck a – wait for it – potentially original idea from Hollywood.

I know I’ve complained the last bit about Hollywood not coming up with any new ideas. Really, who hasn’t? With an industry that’s heavily relied on books and older movies for its box office fodder, it’s nice to see a director try to go with something a bit different.

And lo, we almost had that opportunity with The Boy, a film starring Lauren Cohan (you may know her from The Walking Dead). The plot: a woman heads to England to be the nanny for a couple’s young son. It turns out the boy in question is actually a doll. Cohan’s character, Greta, begins to experience bizarre incidents in the home, leading her to believe the doll is actually alive. OooOooOoo spooky!

Where I take issue with the film is with its realm of possibility. I can’t elaborate too much on this, because it would give the movie away completely, but let’s just say some of the things that take place in the movie aren’t so logical when you consider the explanation the movie presents at the end for the doll’s actions.

Even worse is how slowly the movie moves. Pair that together with your standard scare tactics (the use of mirrors, the doll moving suddenly, dead animals popping up randomly), and it cheapens the movie to the point where it would arguably frustrate the viewer. Been there, done that for most of the ride.

Where I do give credit to director Willam Brent Bell (who previously directed The Devil Inside, which was probably THE worst horror film of  2012) is in the slight twist at the end. It’s a little odd, which gives the movie a nice kind of 80’s horror flick spin to it. Also, yay to you guys for choosing to shoot your not-so-scary horror flick in Victoria!

Does that mean I’m recommending you drop everything and go see it? Nah. This one is worth skipping, or saving for a cheapie night. You could even save it for a digital release. With the kind of been there, done that attitude much of this movie takes, I don’t think it’s worth enough to stick around to watch the last twenty to thirty more interesting minutes unfold.

Two creepy dolls out of five.

Take a look at the trailer for The Boy below!