Not the best nor the worst but a decent little thriller. The two leads were very good with a so-so script and what seems to be a minimal budget. Not bad. Would I watch it again? No but I don't regret watching it.
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deloudelouvain21 January 2022The Boy Behind The Door has good and bad moments. The good things are the suspense building (nice intense moments that kept the movie alive), the decent acting (even from the kids) and the cinematography. The major bad thing about this movie was the extremely bad decisions that were taken by the kids but also by the villain. I get it that a kid doesn't think rationally but the amount of very bad decisions brought the quality of the movie down. It's good enough to watch once though, but I can't say I would watch it a second time in the future. For that there are better movies in this genre.
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cmharels28 September 2020The major component of what I enjoyed about the film is the dynamic and poignant performances of the child actors in the film. However, my general feelings of the film's story progression is one of frustration and eye rolls.
I do realize that film's protagonist is a child so poorly thought out action makes sense. Child characters can't be presumed to have the most logical survival instincts. Still, I felt more irritation toward the antagonist or general logistics of the occurrences in the film.
Still, I definitely give it kudos for both taking on a dark real life subject as well as the actors performances. -
neannehung6 September 2021Unrealistic storyline, this kid has multiple times to escape but chooses to stay and hide in the most stupidest places you could think of. Two tea towels to clean up blood from a dead body and then hiding under a bed to moving a chest of drawers to nose at pics all whilst the kidnapper is in the en suite taking a shower lol FIRE THE SCRIPT WRITERS...
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killercharm4 October 2021Heart in throat. Not only that but I actually had to look away a couple of times. I did have to remind myself that these are tween boys making these decisions. That way I could keep on watching it even though the little scared sweetheart kept opting to run away rather than deliver a second blow. Plus he was scared, real scared. When you add that to the de rigueur horror movie tripe, I mean, trope that victims make poor decisions you are left with a horror movie that throws a fright into you. What's not to love.
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rebelscout10 August 2021I applaud this movie. The originality of the story is good. This was a good change, instead of having the usual damsel who was abducted by... blah blah blah.
Sure, it had its movie-isms but put yourself in their situation. They are kids, 12 years old at best and you can't bash them for not doing what a 25+ year old abductee trying to escape would do. If you ignore the low ratings and understand what they're going through, you'll see it differently.
Brave boys. -
goods11631 July 2021This could have been a nice little gem of a movie. Good atmosphere and tension, some good horror here. But key fatal flaw ruined the movie for me. Minor general spoiler: It's annoying that the attacker is incapacitated on numerous occasions, but each time the boy immediately runs away. Does not bother to disarm, fully incapacitate, etc. Of course attacker got up each time. Is this the best the writers can come up with? After perhaps the 5th time this happens I kind of lost interest and it became silly.
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inexplicable0072 August 2021I was on the edge of my seat for most of this movie of course rooting for the protagonists. I really felt for the two innocent victims throughout the movie and immensely hated their attackers which made me emotionally invested in the film. Of course there were some illogical decisions made by the characters but they're kids and kids in a highly stressful scary situation, none of which took away from my enjoyment of the movie however. From start to finish I wanted my protagonists to succeed and this movie held my interest throughout.
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be-jan31 July 2021I was about to stop watching several times, because the boy's actions were so illogical or just plain stupid. Yes, he's supposed to be quite young, but even at this age and under stress you just wouldn't have done some of these things, e.g. Checking out a safe and flipping to photos of victims while your kidnapper is taking a shower a few metres away.
Apart from that, there were the usual hackneyed thriller elements such as "fleeing without taking the gun" and "leaving the perpetrator lying unconsciously without trying to immobilise him/her in any way".
Besides that, how has an old dial phone a modern RJ11 plug, and how could the kid completely clean up such a massive amount of blood in such short time with just two tea towels? -
midnitepantera5 September 2021The kids were decent actors and the beginning was quite scary. It's terrifying how badly kidnapping and assaulting, abusing and killing of children as become an epidemic today. Sad that your kid can't even play in their own yard without fear of a predator taking them, and the internet lets them right into your home now too! :O Why can't we figure out a way to use technology to protect kids instead of putting them in More Danger??? And as for the reviewer saying its Democrats that traffic kids, You know what?? Political affiliation has NOTHING to DO with whether your an EVIL CREEP or NOT. People of all ages, races, incomes, political affiliations, religions, genders Can choose to be EViL MONSTERS, so stop already with your misinformation PLEASE!!!
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charlesantoinedutil1 August 2021The plot can't get any worse.. The kids make decisions that make my brain hurt The actors are the only slightly good thing about that movie.. This movie is all about being stupid.
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kosmasp29 October 2021Now do characters here (and kids furthermore) act and do stuff that you would deem ... not helpful to their situation? You bet they do. Is it the old and established, well if they did everything right, we wouldn't have a movie kind of thing? Maybe in some cases yes, maybe you feel in most cases too.
But having said that, the actors (kids - which I can't stress out enough are not easy to find - well not good actor kids like the ones you get here at least) are really not to blame for anything here - if you actually don't like the movie that is.
If like me you buy into the story and suspend your disbelief, you'll have quite the ride. A well choreographed and well shot one at that. For an independent production with a limited plot and time - that is all I ask for. -
Good stuff, this!
'The Boy Behind The Door' is one I'd recommend. There is much of it that I certainly enjoyed, even if there are still a couple of meh things too. I predominantly only hold positives, however.
The major one is young actors Lonnie Chavis and Ezra Dewey - both brilliant, especially Chavis during his more emotional scenes. Also, for the most part, the decision-making of their characters is pretty solid... smart, even. I like that, just because you have children onscreen it doesn't mean they should be fully dumbed down. The film, aside from one early scene iirc, avoids cheap jump scares too, which is always a plus.
I didn't rate the adult characters in this 2020 flick, as in the actors playing them and also just as characters in general. I would've preferred to have seen and/or known more about the antagonists, leaving them 'hidden' to elevate the horror didn't truly work for me if I'm honest - the anguish on the face of the kids is enough in that regard. -
Saving you 2 hours you won't get back. The story line is set early and in the synopsis - 2 boys are kidnapped by unknown men. It becomes a tense battle to stay alive, with the men being about as oblivious to what is going on as one can expect in a low grade horror film.
What starts out with true suspensful promise unfortunately goes downhill about a quarter way in. The film uses a tactic to keep the suspense going that doesn't work for prolonged periods but the director iinsists on using it. At that point, at the halfway mark, the film takes a marked turn for the worse when the stuidity heightens.
4 stars for the kids. Zero for the script. No rating for the camerawork which is almost always in the dark because... it's more suspensful that way. This was a total waste of time. As usual there are connected people posting fake reviews. -
xxxxxdarkmoon7 January 2022The pros: good actors, and scary moments. One oscar goes to the great sound-designer soundtrack. It is really very well done. It created most of the scary atmosphere.
The cons : although it is a shocking story, it is predictable. No surprises. They had several chances to get away and also to finish that women off.
There are unanswered open questions. Why not answering these. The viewer wants to have clear answers - not assumptions only. The timer on that one guy's digital watch - what was it about? Was it the time he had left with that boy together, that he had payed for? What exactly are these guys? Are these disgusting child-abusers or sadists, part of a cult? -
SnoopyStyle20 August 2022Best friends, Bobby and Kevin, get kidnapped and stuffed into the trunk of a car. They are brought to an isolated farm house. While Kevin gets locked up, Bobby manages to escape but he can't leave behind his friend.
This is an indie horror-thriller. It's a series of cat and mouse battle against the adult kidnappers with the bigger stretch against Kristin Bauer van Straten. It's a solid small thriller. Mostly, the kids are good little actors. They help sell this movie. -
Found this on Shudder and thought it was going to be a thrilling little flick. It certainly started off that way and as things went along, you forgive the little mistakes characters make that are standard for cheap horror. You appreciate the references to other horror films such as the axe through the bathroom door. You start to get excited about the twists and turns. You note a MAGA bumper sticker that lets you know these villains are absolutely terrible people.
Then a character leaves a gun by the villain when trying to escape.
And you know that scene at the end of slasher films where the final girl drops the knife because she assumes she's killed the killer but he's DUN DUN DUN still alive? When you realize that's all this film is for the entire hour and a half, it's harder to forgive. You almost want to see the characters get killed off just because their stupidity is too ridiculous, even for kids. Then you just don't care. By the last 20 minutes, I was just repeatedly checking the time, hoping it was almost over.
Hard pass, this wasn't thrilling.
It wasn't even cheap fun.
Only bonus was screaming "oh my god, it's Pam from True Blood!" -
This is maybe more like 6,5 --- but I give it a 7 rating. It is entertaining, though some of the moves boy does in the house are illogical. I know it is a film, but still... I wish the kid returned to take the money in the end.
The kids actors are good. Music not bad. All in all, pretty good for an evening watch. -
I never make an effort to write reviews, generally just read them if I'm making my mind up to invest time for a new film-and this time something seriously is afoot here.
This movie was painfully, woefully dumb. Lazy writing, ridiculous plot with even more ridiculous loop holes and confusing, insulting character & narrative choices. I was so excited to screen this based off all the hype, and walked away wondering when the last time was I'd seen such a seriously weak film.
Whatever is going on here with current critical reviews, I'm not sure, but buyer beware. Unless your thing is to rejoice in the concept of being proudly offended by a topic that's literally been around for centuries - which isn't even taken on here with any real sense of bravery or understanding by the writers - or the theme of best friends till the end in a film can erase any & all of your general common sense and expectations of quality, reality, detail and respect to your intelligences, then I'd highly recommend passing this one up.
As a true lover of all genres of film, again, just wow. What a total bomb this was, not to mention a waste of time. -
Ok, so we all know those movies where the character takes way to long to get from point A to Point B. Well this is one of those movies, so fast-forwarding through some parts and I still didn't miss much. This movie was not all that bad, the lady surprised me so if a movie can surprise me it is not all bad. I will admit though her character was just horrible! She was not a believable actress at all. Now the kids did alright, enough so I didn't hate this movie. So all around, not a movie that will win awards but a good one on a slow night with nothing else to watch.
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iipeterr-1562724 August 2021The kids can act! But.... The script is terrible!! None of events of the movie makes sense! You'll be constantly saying " WTF, are serious?!"
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PedroPires9011 August 2021As a thriller/suspense film it's probably a 7, very tense, with a good atmosphere and a good score. I would say that the friendship between the kids, their acting and the very ending transform this in a 8, as it adds a new layer to just "a simple good thriller".
PS: Loved the sticker. It's their art, their product, so writers/directors should represent whatever they want. 😉 -
ejmail-119129 August 2021This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. From the ludicrous script, to the dreadful acting from every character, to the fact they couldn't even rent cop cars that weren't 30 years old and falling apart. I am still shocked at how bad it was and yet some critics are praising this heap of garbage.
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jeroduptown8 August 2021Bobby and Kevin are kidnapped and taken to a house - where Bobby is left in the trunk, but escapes. Bobby pieces together what is happening and tries to save his bestie at the same time.
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After a boy and his best friend are kidnapped, our protagonist manages to escape, but is then faced with the dilemma of getting real help for his friend, or going back in the house to spend an hour and half moving from room to room with the urgency of a potted plant. But his biggest challenge isn't fighting the kidnapper, or even how to unlock the door to his friend's prison, but his own lack of problem solving skills. No human acts like our protagonist who doesn't seem to know what he's doing from one moment to the next. He flip-flops between trying to free his friend or getting help from a human who has a grasp of object permanence - but fails to follow through with any until he's fought and hidden from two bad guys on multiple occasions.
This film is more frustrating than tense. His fight, flight, or freeze seems to switch on and off at random, sometimes fighting, sometimes crying into his knees, but never with any consistency.
This film gets one star for its soundtrack and another because a 10 year old hilariously has the mental wherewithal to clean up a dead body to avoid detection, but not enough to actually flee.