BOY KILLS WORLD - A Review by Jenn Rohm

BOY KILLS WORLD – A Review by Jenn Rohm

Want to make a splash with your directorial debut? Take a concept that does well, remove some of the details that can bring an action film down, secure a good soundtrack, and have talented fight choreographers, and cinematographers who got the vision, and a strong on-screen cast. This is what Moritz Mohr has done in turning his short film, Boy Kills World, into a feature film, and I found it to be amazing.

Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen) is the ruler of this post-apocalyptic, dystopian society of an unknown location or time. Once a year, she holds “The Culling,” where her enemies are killed in front of everyone. After his mother (Rolanda Marais), sister (Quinn Copeland), and he are shot, Boy (Bill Skarsgård) knows he must train to become the ultimate fighter. The Shaman (Yayan Ruhian) heals and trains him. Among his injuries, his tongue was removed, and damage to his ears led to his now being mute and deaf. Boy does not remember the sound of his own voice, and his inner dialog uses the voice (H. Jon Benjamin) from his favorite video game. Once ready to take revenge, he meets up with Basho (Andrew Koji) and Benny (Isaiah Mustafa) to take down the Van Der Koy family.

I appreciated that the movie was not bogged down with the details of why Van Der Koy’s are in power, where this city is located, or when it takes place. Leaving those open not only adds to the video game/this is not real-life feel of the story; it leaves more time for longer fight sequences. Benjamin providing the voice is brilliant. In your head, you know you know the voice, just like a child would from their favorite game. He also added emotion like I do in my own head and not so much in response to everything happening in real life.

While Skarsgård did not have any lines, his talent was shown in his facial expressions and movements, including in multiple fight scenes. Jessica Rothe, as June 27, is part of the Van Der Koy family and their top fighter. She portrays a strong female who can and will hold her own. Ruhian is always enjoyable to watch, and he gets to show a bit more of his abilities, including his comedic side with some “chemically enhanced” moments.

I only had two tiny issues with the film. The violence went a bit too far with the gore for me. In the final fight scene, the effects makeup on Skarsgård under his eye kept pulling my sight to it; the color was off, and it didn’t appear to be fully applied. These are tiny and easy to overlook.

Those who liked Death Race, Running Man, Mortal Kombat, The Crow, Kung Fu Hustle, and Deadpool should go see Boy Kills World in the theater. I will watch for it to be available for purchase for my personal collection.

Director: Moritz Mohr

Written By: Tyler Burton Smith, Arend Remmers, Moritz Mohr

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Famke Janssen, Jessica Rothe

MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, language, some drug use, and sexual references.

Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller

Selig Rating: 4.5 stars

Runtime: 1h 55m

Release Date: April 26, 2024

Trailer: Boy Kills World trailer

Website: Boy Kills World website

The Selig Rating Scale:

5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.