Frenetic Sci-Fi Fight Film Falls Frustratingly Flat
Moritz Mohr’s debut feature, ‘Boy Kills World’, is a flashy but insubstantial pop culture potpourri. The film stars Bill Skarsgård as Boy, a martial artist out for revenge in a dystopian future ruled by Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen).
A bleak future
The story is set in a world where a national holiday called ‘The Culling’ takes place every year, where Hilda rounds up all her enemies and publicly executes them. Boy’s mother and sister were victims of The Culling, but Boy, who was tortured and now cannot speak or hear, was rescued by a mysterious hermit called Shaman (Yayan Ruhian) and violently trained in martial arts to take revenge on the Van Der Koy dynasty.
Bill Skarsgård as Boy
One of the conceits of ‘Boy Kills World’ is that Boy, who can no longer remember what his own voice sounds like, has an inner monologue inspired by the announcer in his favorite arcade fighting game. That voice is provided by H. Jon Benjamin, who magically infuses all his voice-over performances with complex comic notes while never feeling overplayed.
H. Jon Benjamin
The film’s frenetic pacing and half-sensical plotting make it feel like a sensory overload. It’s never happy to simply work with what it already has; it’s always adding more to the chaos pile. When the pile tips over, it’s not a problem, apparently. It’s just an excuse to make another pile.
Chaos ensues
The editing may sometimes be too frenetic to get a great look at the elaborate and intense fight choreography, but whenever the camera lingers long enough, it’s clear that the fights in ‘Boy Kills World’ are something special.
Elaborate fight choreography
In conclusion, ‘Boy Kills World’ is a flashy but insubstantial film that falls frustratingly flat. While it has its moments, the frenetic pacing and half-sensical plotting make it a chaotic mess.
Bill Skarsgård as Boy
‘Boy Kills World’ is a box of prizes full of speed and ‘shrooms. - William Bibbiani
