The Boy (3½ Stars)

Greta Evans leaves America to escape an abusive relationship. She takes a job looking after a young boy while the parents are on holiday for a few weeks. When she's introduced to the boy, Brahms, she sees that it's really a porcelain doll being carried around by the parents. At first she thinks they're joking, but then she realises they're serious. They even talk to the doll as if it could understand them.

The parents give Greta a list of rules to obey, such as time that should be spent reading Brahms poetry and playing music for him, but she doesn't obey the rules when they leave. Then she begins to notice that the doll isn't lifeless after all. It moves around the room when she's asleep, and she hears it running around in other parts of the house.

This is a genuinely scary film. It starts off slowly, but it picks up momentum as it progresses. I wouldn't call it a great horror film, but I enjoyed watching it in the cinema today. It's a film worth watching at least once.