For lovers of suspenseful and mysterious horror films, I would recommend the movie “The Boy”. There are minimal levels of gore and violence in this film but it is definitely thrilling and leaves you wanting to find out more as the story develops.

The plot is based around a babysitter, Greta, looking for work in a small town in the UK and is hired as a nanny for an elderly couple with a child. When she arrives to their home she is shown who she is to look after: a porcelain doll named Brahms. This doll, treated as a son by the couple, is said to have “rejected” many babysitters previously.

She is given a set of rules such as speaking loudly when reading to Brahms, leaving food out on the table, and setting up rat traps. Greta ignores these rules and does her own routine while looking after the house. Soon, strange things start happening such as Brahms moving locations, a child’s sobs are heard in the hallways, phone calls are cut off, and the doll seems to move on its own, vanishing and reappearing elsewhere in the house. After receiving a phone call in which a child’s voice urges her to follow the rules, she begins to try and treat the doll as a real boy, until Greta’s abusive ex-boyfriend shows up after months of looking for her and smashes the doll.

There is a big plot twist to the story which links to what we find out about the doll: Brahms was a real boy who died in a fire 20 years ago, and the couple replaced him with the doll. The plot twist is incredibly unexpected and it really makes the movie worth watching.