A deaf and voiceless person is trained by a mysterious shaman to become an instrument of death after his family is murdered. A film by Moritz Mohr, starring Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, Sharlto Copley, and Famke Janssen.
BOY KILLS WORLD
Moritz Mohr
(2024)
In a dystopian world, there is a city ruled by the fearsome Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), and her family. She maintains control over the citizens by introducing a ritualistic ceremony called The Culling, as a twisted demonstration to strike fear into thre people.
Every year, she compiles a list of all her enemies, rounding them up for public execution. Boy (Cameron Crovetti / Nicholas Crovetti), his younger sister Mina (Quinn Copeland), and their mother (Rolanda Marais) are captured. Hilda murders his mother and his sister, but decides to cut Boy’s tongue and destroying his eardrums, rendering him mute and deaf.
A mysterious man known as the Shaman (Yayan Ruhian), who lives in the deep forest, comes to Boy’s rescue, saving his life. Shaman brings Boy back to his cabin in the forest: to master weapons and everything needed to kill Hilda, avenging his sister and mother.
Years passed. Boy (Bill Skarsgård), now a young man, continues his training with the Shaman. Over the years, Boy has been haunted by occasional hallucinations of his dead sister, Mina. Lately, these visions have become a constant presence. Mute since his ordeal, Boy narrates his story in an inner voice modeled after his childhood video game, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin. It’s cooler than his own voice, he thinks. Boy also learns lip reading, though his skill is far from perfect.
One day, during their trip into the city to sell produce, Boy witnesses Glen Van Der Koy (Sharlto Copley) and Gideon Van Der Koy (Brett Gelman) rounding up victims for the Culling. Glen accidentally shoots a civilian, triggering a citywide massacre incited by June27 (Jessica Rothe). Despite the Shaman believing Boy isn’t ready, Boy decides it’s time to end Hilda. He hides himself in the trunk of Gideon’s car, destined for a warehouse.
At the warehouse, Boy is attacked by Glen and his men. During the fight, Boy befriends a prisoner named Basho (Andrew Koji) and manages to kill all of Glen’s men. Basho interrogates Glen, who claims he can bring them both inside the party when the Culling is hosted. But Basho accidentally drops a vice on Glen’s head, crushing his skull, killing him instantly.
Basho takes Boy back to the Resistance hideout, expecting Boy to meet his friends and members, only to discover that all of them have been killed, except Benny (Isaiah Mustafa), the sole survivor. Basho and Benny explain the plan to sneak into Van Der Koy manor and eliminate Hilda in the dining room .Though Boy can’t read Benny’s lips, the narrator’s voice descends into gibberish, making it impossible for the audience to understand Benny as well. Mina’s hallucination appears, instructing Boy to nod like he understands, even though he doesn’t.
Directed by German filmmaker Moritz Mohr in his directorial debut, based on a story by himself and Arend Remmers, BOY KILLS WORLD is a gruesome revenge story that dives into bloody chaos. The camerawork and fight choreography are incredible to behold. Several moments become memorable due to the unique killing techniques and weapons (such as Cheese Grater), which are over-the-top like slapstick violence, yet somehow feel grounded in reality.
Bill Skarsgård delivers a stellar performance without saying a word. I’m glad he finally gets recognized as a leading man in a moderately budgeted action film. His childish facial expressions bring a certain complexity to the character. However, the main antagonist is less memorable than I’d hoped. The plot twist, while surprising, isn’t entirely unpredictable.
The true brilliance of the film lies within its action-packed, bloody fight choreography that looks so good and so exciting that we unconsciously hold our breath. BOY KILLS WORLD is entertaining to watch. A notable character includes June27, portrayed by Jessica Rothe, who almost always wears an LED-lit helmet to communicate instead of talking.
BOY KILLS WORLD premiered at Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2023. It was theatrically released in the United States and the United Kingdom on 26 April 2024.
