Boy Kills World (2023)

Boy Kills World (2023)

7/10

Starring          

Bill Skarsgård

Jessica Rothe

Michelle Dockery

Brett Gelman

Isaiah Mustafa

 

Directed by Moritz Mohr

 

Boy Kills World is a funny action-comedy film about a boy who goes against the city leaders where he lives. Boy (the main character, referred to throughout the movie as Boy) is deaf and mute in this dystopian city. The city is ruled by the Van Der Koy family, and Boy's mother was a rebel. His little sister, Mina, was also a rebel and a hero to him. The head of the Van Der Koy family is Hilda, who selects twelve people yearly for "the culling," where they are killed on live TV. Boy, Mina, and his mother were selected. Boy witnessed his mother and sister being killed, but somehow survived, though left deaf and mute. He was saved by a Shaman, who trained Boy in martial arts, using hallucinogens to strengthen his mind and erase his past, making him strong enough to avenge his mother and sister.

The appeal of this movie isn’t just the premise but how it is executed. The comedy emerges in unexpected places. Boy communicates with viewers through the voice in his head, narrating the movie. Mina, his sister, appears in his hallucinations, talking to him and complicating his journey.

The acting, as expected from Bill Skarsgård (Boy), is top-notch. However, the dystopian setting lacks detail, which is not a major plot point in the movie. It can be understandable as the movie’s budget likely didn’t prioritize the scenery over the story. Because when watching, the movie’s backdrop resembles what you will see in our present world.

With that said, this plays into Boy’s engagement with his surroundings during fights and chases. The "one man against an army" trope recalls ’90s action films, where the hero never misses, but the villains always do.

The standout moment is a twist that shifts everything we know about Boy, his identity, and his origins. Like every revenge film, there’s a twist but this one caught me off guard, making me love the movie even more.

This is one of those movies that nobody has heard of made only 3.3 million in the box office and tells me many have missed out on this masterpiece. So, if you have not seen this movie, you should take the time to see it, you will love it. It is not a big studio project, so as I said, in the above review, do not expect much when it comes to the scenery or backdrop.