BOY KILLS WORLD (2024) review

written by: Tyler Burton Smith and Arend Remmers
produced by: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi, Roy Lee, Wayne Fitzjohn, Simon Swart, Stuart Manashil, Dan Kagan & Alex Lebovici
directed by: Moritz Mohr
rating: R (for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, language, some drug use and sexual references)
runtime: 111 min.
U.S. release date: April 26, 2024

“Boy Kills World” confirms that the Skarsgård men have impressive genes and metabolisms. In the adrenalized action comedy thriller from first-time director Moritz Mohr, Bill Skarsgård is bafflingly ripped. He’s not a bulky bodybuilder here, but instead, he displays the physique of an Olympic swimmer who’s also skilled in martial arts. It’s as impressive a physical transformation as his brother, Alexander Skarsgård, who got shredded for “The Legend of Tarzan” in 2016. What does this have to do with this movie? Well, it’s probably the most memorable aspect of “Boy Kills World,” a tonally confused movie that tries too hard to do everything.

Bill Skarsgård plays the titular Boy, a deaf and mute orphan who was raised in the jungle by The Shaman (Yayan Ruhian), who transformed him into a lethal weapon after his mother was presumably murdered. She and his younger sister, Mina (Quinn Copeland), were killed during “The Culling,” an annual in which randomly chosen civilians are killed in cold blood and overseen by Hilda (an underutilized Famke Janssen), the matriarch of the Van der Koy family. The film starts by showing the tight connection the young Boy (Nicholas Crovetti) has with his little sister (both of whom share a love for video games and “Frosty Poofs” kids cereal) and the relentless physical and mental training he endures by the mysterious Shaman.

As a young adult, this Boy is still plagued by what happened to his family, often interacting with a vision of his sister that only he can see, which affects him psychologically. Boy and Shaman have laid low for much of Boy’s life, with the Shaman educating his mind and body and teaching Boy how to read lips. But now his revenge is boiling, and he is ready to wage an all-out war with the Van der Koys. He has to contend with Hilda’s children: vapid showman Glen (Sharlto Copley), aspiring writer Gideon (Brett Gelman), and Melanie (Michelle Dockery), the brains behind their operation. What that operation is exactly in this nondescript futuristic dystopian city (aka “totalitarian hellhole”) is unclear. The family certainly has power over the populace, even a military police force at their disposal, but the why and how of it all is vague.

When a new Culling is announced, Boy sees the event as an opportunity to reveal himself and obliterate the Van der Koy family and anyone associated with them. He will have to clear a violent path through various levels of security aiming to hold him back, including June 27 (Jessica Rothe), a female enforcer whose abilities rival Boy’s. Boy finds aid in his journey at a weapons facility where he meets Basho (Andrew Koji), a jaded albeit resourceful prisoner eager to help. The boy also encounters Benny (Isaiah Mustafa), a soldier who is part of a rebellion whose comical mush mouth makes it challenging for Boy to read his lips.

Speaking of reading, “Boy Kills World” is a perplexing movie to gauge. It’s clearly aiming for midnight movie cult status with its mashup of comic book-style action and video game frenzy. That doesn’t bode well if the attempt is so overtly obnoxious. Subtlety is not an option here. The violence is akin to the kind you’d see in the original Mortal Kombat arcade game, which is fitting considering Boy used to love to play that with Mina when they were kids.

On that note, since Boy cannot verbally communicate, Mohr includes an internal voice for Boy that only we can hear. This decision starts off odd and funny but quickly goes from jarringly distracting to frustratingly annoying. The voice is not Skarsgård, but that of H. Jon Benjamin, an actor who is mimicking the kind of announcer’s voice typically heard from the video game that Boy used to play (you know, “Fight!” or “K.O.!”). The problem is this internal voice doesn’t always match Boy’s expressions or body language. As the voice becomes overbearing with its wisecracks and sarcasm, how we see Skarsgård act doesn’t match what we hear. It’s bizarre and almost like a track added from a different movie. There wasn’t enough confidence or trust in the audience to have a deaf and mute action hero apparently.

The character of Boy feels more like a tool for the plot rather than a main protagonist. There are other more interesting characters in “Boy Kills World,” although there’s not much to them. That has to do with the actors portraying them and the revelations that come for both of them in the third act. As The Shaman, Yayan Ruhian (who displayed such great physicality in the two “The Raid” movies) is a standout, as he deftly communicates layers to his character as the story unfolds. It’s not difficult to figure out the big reveal for this character, but Ruhian earns that revelation by conveying just enough convincing emotion. Although Jessica Rothe wears a motorcycle helmet throughout most of the movie, she is a cool character with an intriguing presence. Just as Boy has a voice, June 27 is primarily silent, using an LED visor that communicates for her. The reason for that comes later, but I picked up on the why very early on.

If “Boy Kills World” had simplified the story as a character-driven journey into violent vengeance, more room could have been made for substance. But Mohr is more concerned with the gaming aesthetic of the story, delivering plenty of dizzying visuals and propelling action sequences.

The whole thing began as a short film co-created by Mohr, and when Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions were greenlit, the challenge was how to stretch the material to a feature-length runtime. In doing so, it feels like Mohr and screenwriters Tyler Burton Smith (2019’s “Child’s Play” remake) and Arend Remmers have bloated the project into an ADHD action frenzy, simply because they could. Doing so created a layer of unnecessary confusion, resulting in an exhausting and disappointing viewing experience.

RATING: **