Boy Kills World
Set in a dystopian land ruled by a totalitarian dictator, where hyper-violence is often the only solution, Boy Kills World is totally outrageous. However, it's also strangely relatable & entertaining for the majority of the film.
Starring Bill Skarsgard as the physical embodiment of the titular character, simply known as Boy, Boy Kills World follows a deaf & mute young man who has been training to assassinate the bloodthirsty dictator Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen) & avenge his family's murder. As Boy is mute the voice of the character, which is only heard by the audience & inside the character's mind, is drawn from an arcade machine & provided by comedian & voice actor Harry Jon Benjamin.
As the character of Boy often references throughout the film he is living in a liminal space, meaning he is occupying the space between two spaces. Much like the film itself does. Is it a straight comedy? Or is it an action flick? Well, honestly, it's neither but it's also both!
On the action side, the fight sequences & choreography are fantastic. Even though they are oven turbocharged to the extremes, regularly verging on comic book-esque or even comedic. This then feeds into the comedy space of the film with its liberal use of snappy one-liners & cheesy dialogue. While the comedy packs a punch at times it also has just as many whiffs that don't land at all.
The plot of Boy Kills World is simple but also somewhat schizophrenic & absurd. Boy progresses through his mission in a series of boss-fight-like encounters as he slowly climbs through the ranks of the ruling family. There are a couple of major twists, one of which was very predictable & the other which hits like a shotgun shell to the solar plexus.
Boy Kills World is an entertaining romp for fans of films such as John Wick, The Raid, Step Brothers or Shaun Of The Dead. It's incredibly violent & gory but the cringe dialogue can abruptly rip you from your enjoyment of the wackiness.
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