YMMV / The Boy

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• Alternative Character Interpretation: It seems like the Heelshires were built on this trope. Seriously you could ask twenty different people the reasons for their actions and odds are you'll get a different answer from each and that's just assuming they're on the same boat about everything (which itself is up for debate). Aside from the more common questions about the moral conundrums of them sheltering their Psychopathic Man Child within their home instead of bringing him to justice and leading many potential nannies unwittingly to their doom, there are also other aspects of the film that call their character into question, such as the fire that only occurred in Brahms's room. Did they start it, if so why? Also did they kill themselves out of guilt, or was it them taking the easy way out instead of facing some hard earned jail time? Good luck sussing all that out.
  • Brahms reasons for not killing Malcolm like he did Cole. Simply to use Malcolm for later just in case Greta almost escaped which she did and get her to come back to save him like she did because he clearly was the one watching them make out through the keyhole and she loved him? Or because Cole was a Jerkass to Greta and as he saw by their making out Malcolm geniunely loved Greta and Brahms spared him for that giving him a strange Pet the Dog? One could also believe it was because Malcolm had been bringing groceries for years so Brahms knew Malcolm while Cole was just a stranger and clearly was a danger to Greta.
  • How genuinely evil Brahms actually is and how much of his situation is his own fault can be discussed as well. While its heavily implied that he killed a playmate at age eight, and apparently hated animals, it's also never clarified whether he actually killed her, or, if he did, whether the death was an accident on his part or not. And, given that he was always a bit off, innocent or guilty, The Heelshires did little to help their son with his clear mental problems or at least let him face justice for his wrongdoings. Brahms' attachment to Greta also seems to be both filial and romantic, and it's implied to have been the same way with his past nannies, implying that, despite his violent behavior, he has the emotional capacity for affection and isn't the complete sociopath his parents paint him as. So was Brahms an Enfante Terrible turned Psychopathic Manchild who was locked away because his parents were both fearful and protective of him, and they ultimately felt confining him to the house and biding him with nannies was better than releasing him on the world or locking him in jail? Or was Brahms a child with a mental disorder whose burn scars were an excuse by his parents to fake his death and shut him away out of shame and embarrassment, and their negligence morphed Brahms into the Psychopathic Manchild he is in the film?
• Broken Base: The audience is divided by the dispute about whether the final twist is an original deconstruction of the Creepy Doll or an inappropriate transformation of an effective paranormal thriller into a Cliché Storm Slasher Movie.
• Complete Monster: Brahms is a demonic being inhabiting a porcelain doll. Since the 1800s, Brahms has inhabited the Heelshire Estate, preying on children with mental illnesses so they would stay with Brahms in the estate and follow his rules. If the families of the children ever broke the rules, Brahms would drive the children to murder them, having done so several times over the years. In the first film, Brahms drove a child sharing his name to murder a girl and then turned him into a feral madman who murdered several nannies hired to take care of the doll.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Brahms. He definitely is not the guy with whom you want to have a relationship, but his unconventionally stunning◊ appearance makes him rather charismatic.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Although numerous Accidental Innuendo like "it looks like he wanted a young [...] and beautiful" and "he wants you" is pretty creepy, they get a second level of disgust after the final turn.
• Heartwarming Moments: Brahms apologizing for playing pranks on Greta by leaving a sandwich outside her bedroom. It's after this event that Greta realizes that all Brahms wants is to be taken care of and she starts taking her job seriously from that point on. However, this moment becomes Harsher in Hindsight when the twist comes in.
  • The possibility that Brahms didn't kill Malcolm because he saw their making out through the keyhole and knew Malcolm loved, unlike Jerkass Cole.
  • Greta asking the Brahms doll to prove that he can move to prove that she's not crazy in front of Malcolm, even calling him 'Brahmsy.' even knowing the twist, it's kind of sweet to think Brahms would move the doll for Greta's sake.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • The Heelshires. While leaving Greta at the bay of their murderous son is definitely a bad thing, you can't blame them for being desperate to escape him. The fact that they committed suicide after they left could be interpreted as them not being able to handle the guilt of having protected Brahms' secret for so long and for leaving an innocent woman at the mercy of a dangerous killer.
  • Brahms himself. A lot of the tragedy that happens in the movie could have been averted if he had gotten the professional help he desperately needed. Instead he gets burnt in a fire which must leave him in no small amount of pain, for which he, presumably isn't getting any medical attention for, can only communicate with people via the doll while he has to stay hidden within his own house, and mind you the only people he can talk to completely abandon him. By the time Greta arrives, its really no wonder he's gone completely Axe-Crazy.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Brahms crossed it before the events of the movie when he killed his playmate.
  • The Heelshires crossed it when they basically gave Greta to Brahms so he could "have her" and they decide to kill themselves to not live with the pain. And it's implied this isn't the first time they did this..
  • Greta's ex-husband Cole crossed it when he abused her so badly that she miscarried.
• Narm:
  • Children's voice and the sound of childish steps are very difficult to take seriously, after you learn the truth about Brahms. To further explain, anyone who owns a house and has had squirrels in the attic know that squirrels only weigh one or two pounds, but you can EASILY hear them moving about in your attic if you get them. The fact that this movie attempts to say that a grown man was crawling around in the walls constantly with only some sound carrying passes beyond all suspension of disbelief. It would've been better to have a ghost in the walls, not a person, as it would be incredibly easy to know where he is when he moves, short of his movements or body being something supernatural.
  • The idea that the family keeps the 28-year-old Manchild locked up, repeatedly hiring young girls for him as a Love Interest, is pretty funny if you interpret Brahms as a NEET.
• So Okay, It's Average: General consensus sees the movie as decent at best, focusing less on doing jump scares and the twist ending working to its advantage.
• Squick: The adult Brahms keeps a makeshift doll wearing Greta's dress in his bed, if one looks closely there appears to be a couple balled up tissues on the bed. Draw your own conclusions.
  • Brahms kissing Greta back for the first time. Up until this point, Greta had primarily treated Brahms like a child under the assumption that he was a spirit of an eight-year-old inhabiting the doll, but Brahms turns out to be a fully grown Psychopathic Manchild whose developed an incredibly warped and decidedly freudian crush on her and forcibly kisses her when she tries to wish him goodnight. It doesn't help that he's been living in the walls and looks like he hasn't bathed in years.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Greta makes absolutely no effort to do the job she's being paid for for a surprisingly large portion of the film. Considering she herself finds it weird that she's taking care of a doll, it somewhat is understandable. She does become more sympathetic when we learn she suffered a miscarriage because of her abusive ex, hence why she slowly becomes attached to the doll. Even so, she always had the option of simply refusing to take the job. It's implied that she's paid quite well, in addition to having no living expenses since she stays in the Heelshires' house.
• Win Back the Crowd: While far from perfect, William Brent Bell was at least able to show he can direct a decent film, in comparison to his last film.