BOY KILLS WORLD (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Moritz Mohr
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Yayan Ruhian, Andrew Koji, Sharlto Copley, Famke Janssen
Genre: Action, Thriller
Writer: Tyler Burton Smith, Arend Remmers
Runtime: 111 min
Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, language, some drug use and sexual references
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Synopsis:

Bill Skarsgård stars as "Boy" who vows revenge after his family is murdered by Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left the boy orphaned, deaf and voiceless. Driven by his inner voice, one which he co-opted from his favorite childhood video game, Boy trains with a mysterious shaman (Yayan Ruhian) to become an instrument of death and is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents. Bedlam ensues as Boy commits bloody martial arts mayhem, inciting a wrath of carnage and blood-letting. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy soon falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister.

Review:

Brutal, irreverent and deranged, "Boy Kills World" is an action thriller that runs an impressive gamut of homages. The feature directorial debut of German filmmaker Moritz Mohr is one steaming melting pot of elements from films like "Kill Bill", "The Raid", "Running Man", "Oldboy", "The Hunger Games", Hong Kong cinema, as well as anime, graphic novels and video games. It's an ambitious mix of elements that reminded me of "Kung Fu Hustle". But does "Boy Kills World" have what it takes to become a beloved classic like Stephen Chow's martial arts comedy ?

Bill Skarsgard ("Nosferatu", It") stars as Boy, a deaf-mute young orphan whose mother and sister were killed by the ruthless Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), a tyrannical matriarch who along with the rest of her deranged family (Michelle Dockery, Sharlto Copley and Brett Gelman) rule over a dystopian metropolis with an iron fist. Rescued by a reclusive shaman (Yayan Ruhian), Boy has been living in the jungle for years, training to become the ultimate killing machine and waiting for the day of retribution. That day eventually arrives, but Boy discovers that the real world is way more complicated than the arcade games he loved as a child, a problem further complicated by his shaky mental state that distorts his perception of reality.

It's a standard revenge story with a feverish psychedelic twist, told through the eyes of a character who bears a childlike innocence but can also break bones like nobody's business. Skarsgard nails both the physicality required for the fight scenes (he had to learn four different martial arts and he's absolutely shredded) and the vulnerability of a character whose mind has been shattered by a traumatic past. And he achieves all of it without uttering a single word of dialogue throughout. For expositional purposes, the movie gives the character an inner monologue voiced by H. Jon Benjamin ("Archer", "Bob's Burgers"), who sounds like the announcer in an arcade fighting game. It could have been a clever narrative device, but while it succeeds in giving an otherwise relentlessly bleak and vicious movie a certain degree of levity, the non-stop narration does get tiresome after a while.

The fight choreography is inventive, bloody and thoroughly impressive, while also stylishsly enhanced by hyper-active camerawork that includes some fantastic drone shots. Some fights, despite being highly creative, do tend to drag on for a bit too long, and occasionaly dip into overindulgent territory. I did appreciate that it's not just one action scene after the other, allowing more than enough room for some unexpected world building and interesting character developments, including a neat third-act twist that really changes the story dramatically. As a whole, though, the movie could have used a trim here and there to tighten it up.

There are many great supporting performances in this one, especially from "Downton Abbey" actress Michelle Dockery who is relishing her evil character, the ever-dependable Sharlto Copley ("District 9", "Chappie"), and fan-favorite Indonesian martial artist Yayan Ruhian ("The Raid"). I was also impressed by Jessica Rothe, who I've only seen in "Happy Death Day", which was mostly a comedic role, but she turns out to be quite an intense badass in this movie, playing the Der Koys' deadly enforcer June27.

"Boy Kills World" tries to do so much at once. It constantly pinballs between ultra-violent action, horror, psychological mind games, operatic drama, and slapstick, sometimes all in the same scene. It's a fever dream through and through, cobbled together from so many familiar elements, while trying real hard to derive something original from its tropes and inspiration. Unfortunately, it's not as original or groundbreaking as it thinks it is, but it does a good enough job holding everything together in an entertaining way, and I think it's definitely cult classic material.

SCORE: 7.5/10