"Boy Kills World" Offers Gory Fun & Deep Thoughts

Or how many murders can one person commit in 111 minutes?

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😺😺😺😺 (out of 😺😺😺😺😺)

Director: Moritz Mohr
Screenplay by: Tyler Burton Smith and Arend Remmers
Cinematography: Peter Matjasko
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, Sharlto Copley, H. Jon Benjamin, Famke Janssen

I finally got around to watching "Boy Kills World," the revenge film starring Bill Skarsgård (who gets to team up again with his former on-screen mother, Famke Janssen). I've enjoyed Skarsgård since I watched "Hemlock Grove" a decade ago, and this was a movie I was super excited to see when I saw the trailer because how could anything that looked so epic be bad? Luckily, I was (mostly) correct; I loved "Boy Kills World," at least up until the last half hour or so.

So what is this acid trip of a revenge flick about? Well, Skarsgård plays Boy, whose family was murdered when he was a child by the ruling family of the hellscape dystopia he lives in. That same ruling family also left him deaf and mute. Thankfully, there was a kind shaman living in the forest (because, of course, there was) who took him in and taught him to kick ass. The shaman, played by Yayan Ruhian (who my brother informs me is the martial arts guy), manages to turn Boy into a weapon, and now that Boy is all grown up, he's on a mission to avenge his dead family. Does the mission include the voice of Bob from "Bob's Burgers," cereal mascots, heavily stylized imagery resembling an arcade game, an adorable little girl, and a whole bunch of nonsense? Why yes, yes, it does.

(Photo courtesy of Photo by Graham Bartholomew - © Nthibah Pictures)

And why shouldn't it? Why is anyone watching this film except to see the hot kid brutally murdering his enemies in increasingly gory and creative ways? If you're coming here for the plot, you'll be sorely disappointed. There is a plot (and it's mostly "see bad guy, kill bad guy, because of dead family"), but let's face it, none of the film's characters are experiencing any growth. Plus, the last half hour of the film somewhat negates the entire arc of the narrative up to that point. No spoilers, but it's silly and doesn't do the story any favors. However, if you just wanna see people get murdered one after the other in a technicolor dystopian nightmare, this is the precise film for you.

What the film lacks in plot, it makes up for in the questions it raises. For one, where does culpability begin and end? Is Boy responsible for something he was forced to do as a child? Is he culpable for his behavior after years of brainwashing? Is the entire ruling family culpable for the terror the main members have wrought on the local population?  Are the sins of our ancestors ours to own, or do we merely acknowledge those sins, express regret for them, and vow to do better in our own lives? Just how inured to violence are we? And just how brainwashed are we, truly, by consumerism?

(Photo courtesy of IMDB.com)

Like I said. Questions. And those questions you'll (hopefully) consider after watching this flick are the next best things about giving "Boy Kills World" a go (the questions, of course, come behind the violence and gore and blood and hilarity of H. Jon Benjamin's voice acting). The questions, the violence, and the fantastic voice of Benjamin aren’t the only things to love about this film, though.

Skarsgård as Boy is an absolute dream; not only does he kick ass, but he brings vulnerability and humor to the character despite the fact he doesn’t speak a word in the film. Andrew Koji as Basho and Isaiah Mustafa as Benny, aka Boy’s sidekicks throughout the film, are in equal turns hysterically funny. Mustafa, in particular, will make you laugh out loud. Famke Jannsen is at her best as the paranoid Hilda, the head of the ruling family, who essentially sets this whole story in motion. And Michelle Dockery and Brett Gelman as Hilda’s siblings bring a whole new level of insanity to the mayhem. It also can’t be forgotten that this was director Moritz Mohr’s debut, and as far as debuts go, this one is aces.

All that said, if you're particularly squeamish, this film is best avoided. I'm not particularly icked out by blood and gore, but there were a couple of moments here that made me cringe. (Anvils, man. Anvils.) If you enjoy your sets drenched in blood, though, "Boy Kills World" is an irreverent, hilarious, blood-spattered trip that's more than worth the watch.

What did you think of “Boy Kills World?” Let me know in the comments!