Boy Kills World, 2024.
Directed by Moritz Mohr.
Starring Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Famke Janssen, Michelle Dockery, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji, Yayan Ruhian, H. Jon Benjamin, Quinn Copeland, Nicholas Crovetti, Cameron Crovetti, Inge Beckmann, Jane de Wet, Shane John Kruger, Martin Munro, Kevin Otto, and Frances Sholto-Douglas.
SYNOPSIS:
A fever dream action film that follows Boy, a deaf person with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, he is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.
One grating creative choice can derail an otherwise fun film. The voice of a narrator may not seem like something to get so worked up about that whether or not I recommend this movie will come down to whatever happens as I’m writing about it, but damn, Boy Kills World director Moritz Mohr (working alongside screenwriters Arend Remmers and Tyler Burton Smith) run the joke into the ground until it may as well be one of the many mutilated bodies that end up on screen. It broke me early and often, draining enjoyment from pleasantly violent and gory mayhem that is visceral and strikingly choreographed with fast pacing and slick, swirling martial arts-reminiscent movements. Every time the narration kicks in, which it sometimes does during these fights, it will likely drive one up a wall, screaming internally, “What were they thinking!”
Worse, the narration doesn’t entirely seem justified. Yes, the protagonist is mute and deaf, but his narration, which comes in the voice of a deep-voiced, fighting arcade game announcer, is a joke that absolutely can’t sustain two hours. On some level, the filmmakers must be aware of this, considering that it is mostly gone by the time the more dramatic but still bloodthirsty third act arrives. The whole gimmick also feels like a strange studio note that reads: general audiences aren’t going to show up if the protagonist has no way to speak thoughts or express emotions, and the stupid people in the back might not be able to pick up on motives through visual context, so stuff it with narration. Again, they unfortunately chose the most irritating voice conceivable.
This is a shame since Boy Kills World is otherwise doing some exciting, down-and-dirty, pulpy, grindhouse things with its video-game-like storytelling structure of a totalitarian empire getting its comeuppance one by one, boss fight style. Bill Skarsgård’s eponymous Boy lost his mother and sister to that murderous regime, almost meeting the same fate before finding himself rescued by a shaman (Yayan Ruhian) who takes the boy in, putting him through rigorous combat training as he grows up. Growing up in the jungle also adds an acrobatic flair to the fight choreography when he returns to the oppressed city for revenge.
The cheeky title also refers to the fact that this boy has never truly grown up. That partially explains the obnoxious voiceover while also allowing for some amusing gags, such as repeatedly getting distracted by tasty cookies and other treats, sometimes mid-fight. That’s also one way of saying the sense of humor here is fine away from the narration, with some noteworthy comedic names popping up and generating laughs. Anyway, this childlike nature also manifests in some heartstring-tugging ways, such as imagining his dead sister, still young, communicating and helping alongside him. He had made her promise they would escape this nightmare and find somewhere peaceful.
There is an annual tradition called The Culling, headed up by Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the psychopathic leader of this empire. It’s an event where some of her remaining enemies are rounded up for execution. Naturally, Boy finds this is his window to launch an attack, battling through her henchmen relatives and hoards of generic baddies. Fights break out in various locations, from warehouses to a Christmas-decorated stage. Hallways are turned red, Jessica Rothe shows up as an ass-kicking villainess wearing a motorcycle helmet that flashes words across the glass, making for a unique method of communication, and a resistance offers support. There is variety in scenery and plenty of color, not to mention some flashy wardrobe design for each character.
Most importantly, the majority of the violence is brutal and bone-crunching, culminating with a vicious final battle filled with slicing-and-dicing, headbutting, lost flesh, counters and reversals, and the kind of resiliency from each side that leaves one hoping the fight never ends. Admittedly, there are action sequences that are too reliant on CGI blood splatter from gunshots, but the final battle here is something much more practical and physically demanding that the actors throw everything they have into; it’s a special one that almost single-handedly saves Boy Kills World from that god-awful, insufferable narration voice. The final stretch also has some emotional beats that probably would have resonated more if the film was more concerned with that than, well, do I really have to say it again?
Boy Kills World; horrible narration voice nearly kills movie.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or ema
