The Paperboy (5 Stars)

In 1994 the Canadian horror film "The Paperboy" was made. In 2018, 24 years later, it still hasn't been released in England, America or even Canada. If you were lucky you might have been able to buy a copy of the Australian DVD release ten years ago, but it's now out of print.

Despite its practical non-existence, if you search online you'll find a lot of reviews. It's an insider tip for fans of horror films. They recognise its quality and speak about it in hushed tones. One of the film's most vocal advocates has been Joe Bob Briggs. When he presented it on Monstervision he called "The Paperboy" the most underrated horror film ever. His recommendation is enough to make anyone sit up and pay attention.

Today I watched "The Paperboy" with my son Benjamin, who's visiting me for a few days. He loved it, of course. He has good taste in films, and if anything he's easier to please than I am. He says of almost every film that he watches with me, "Will you give it five stars?" In this case the answer is a clear Yes. It's is in the list of my 50 favourite films.

What I like about the film is that I can relate to the main character, 12-year-old Johnny McFarley. I've never killed anyone, neither when I was 12 nor when I was older, but I can see myself in him. Maybe if I'd been tipped by tragedies in my life I could have turned out like him. There's a madness in him that I can see in myself. He wants a family. He wants to be loved. He's frustrated that his good deeds are misinterpreted by others. He lusts for his 16-year-old neighbour Brenda – as I also used to lust for older girls who were out of my league – but when she rejects him his feelings turn to hate. That's a step that I never took in my youth, because my intellect and my moral standards protected me, but how close was I to following a path of evil? I don't know. Probably a lot closer than I think.

Or maybe that's just the quality of the film. Maybe it's not just me. Maybe it would speak to the heart of any man who remembers what it was like to be young and confused, too hormonally imbalanced to make the right choices in life.

This is a film that I can recommend to anyone and everyone. I hope that it will eventually be remastered for Blu-ray. It deserves it.