Director: Moritz Mohr
Writers: Tyler Burton Smith, Arend Remmers, Moritz Mohr
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery
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.
Boy Kills World is a film that might have benefited immensely from multiple factors, including its impressive actors and a rising movie star like Bill Skarsgård at the center of its action. Instead, it falls into the fact that it’s too brutal to be lighthearted action, and too silly to be a bloody, action-packed feature. This film was supposed to be Skarsgård’s introduction to movie stardom, but it falls short of its ambition. It tries to incorporate multiple elements from the gaming world but also from hyperviolent, silly ‘90s action flicks. The difficulty of becoming a bridge between two worlds works against it rather than in its favor.
Proper introductions first. This film is the story of an unnamed boy (Skarsgård’), rendered deaf and mute -ouch, too much honestly- by the totalitarian regime head that also killed his mother and little sister, cut his tongue, and rendered him deaf. A shaman saves him and turns him into a killing machine with only one target in sight: Kill Hilda Van Der Koy.
My first issue with Boy Kills World started with the rendering mute and deaf part. It was tough to watch because they never fully explained why they did that to Boy. Why not just kill him like his mother and sister? As the events progress, things get even more complicated to swallow. And as the conclusion is revealed, it makes it even more of an “oh boy” moment than an “Aha” moment.
If not for Skarsgård’s performance, the film would have fallen way behind and lagged in the forgotten recesses of the brain. With his stunning features and sensitive facial expressions, he takes Boy’s inner turmoil to the tautest rope, without losing sight of his action prowess. However, even Jessica Rothe –a delight since her impressive turn as horror movie queen in the Happy Death Day franchise- cannot save shabby storytelling and poor worldbuilding. The world building is one of the key missing elements in this feature. While a film like Monkey Man has benefited extensively from the blend of the myth and the present and the idea of a dystopian, semi-modern society and a tale of revenge, Boy Kills World loses its integrity and structural cohesiveness.
The story seems rushed at times, then painfully slowed down at others. It may be attributed to the fact that Boy’s view of the world is distorted and chopped due to his inability to read lips at all times, but Tyler Burton Smith’s and Arend Remmers’ script fails to convey that through a clean narrative. Instead of outlining that for the viewer, the viewer becomes as confused as Boy; not in an interesting, immersive storytelling experience way, but as in the film itself becomes a quilt made of mismatched fabric.
One of the elements that is underdeveloped in this film is the narration. Bringing in comedian H. Jon Benjamin –most famous for Archer– as Boy’s inner voice and his clever, twisted monologue could have taken the film to another realm. Instead, they use a comedic voice, which is an entirely different beast than the average writer’s voice. It’s what makes low-key films and series go through the roof because their writers are totally in command of their inner cynicism. Unfortunately with this film, the writers needed a funnier, comedic virtuoso.
It will take more than a fascination with kung-fu movies and video games to make Boy Kills World the ambitious action film it aimed to be; a clear, decisive roadmap, solid world-building, and distinctive character design. It serves as Skarsgård’s introduction into becoming one of the next action heroes but still lacks the proper movie star polishing for his full capabilities to shine.
