THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR (2021)
Label: Acorn Media International
Region Code: A, B
Rating: Cert: 15
Duration: 88 Minutes
Audio/Video: The Boy Behind The Door (2021) arrives on region A/B friendly Blu-ray from Acorn Media International in 1080p HD widescreen (2.38:1). Not an overly vibrant picture, a lot of it happens within the darkness, and I found the interior shots of the house particularly dark and impenetrable. There's some black crush throughout that saps shadow detail, but it's not ruinous, just not ideal. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. It's an decently atmospheric sound design with a solid score and creepy interior acoustics. Extras are slim, we get a 2-min Music Video and a brief 3-min Bloopers reel.
Duration: 88 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.38:1)
Director: David Charbonier & Justin Powell
Cast: Lonnie Chavis, Ezra Dewey, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Micah Hauptman
While walking to their little league baseball game two boys waste time on a grassy hill near a forest to contemplate life away from their small-town lives and swear a pact to escape together no matter what. The boys are twelve-year-old Bobby (Lonnie Chavis, TV's This Is Us) and his best friend, Kevin (Ezra Dewey, The Djinn), while tossing a baseball back and forth an errant ball rolls down the hill into the forest, and when they go to find it find themselves abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car by a stranger, then taken to a remote house. Waking up from a thump on the head Bobby manages to escape the trunk which is parked in the garage of the home, but his pal Kevin is missing. He attempts to escape and flee the house but when he hears his friend's screams coming from an upper floor he remembers their pact and he realizes he can’t leave his best friend behind.
While walking to their little league baseball game two boys waste time on a grassy hill near a forest to contemplate life away from their small-town lives and swear a pact to escape together no matter what. The boys are twelve-year-old Bobby (Lonnie Chavis, TV's This Is Us) and his best friend, Kevin (Ezra Dewey, The Djinn), while tossing a baseball back and forth an errant ball rolls down the hill into the forest, and when they go to find it find themselves abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car by a stranger, then taken to a remote house. Waking up from a thump on the head Bobby manages to escape the trunk which is parked in the garage of the home, but his pal Kevin is missing. He attempts to escape and flee the house but when he hears his friend's screams coming from an upper floor he remembers their pact and he realizes he can’t leave his best friend behind.
Sneaking back into the house he avoids the kidnapper (Kristin Bauer van Straten, True Blood) and her child-raping client (Micah Hauptman, Everest), determined to free his friend and flee together. While Bobby boldly but cautiously navigates the creepy house in the a dark Kevin is living through a nightmare in a locked room, his ankle chained to the floor with an electric shock collar around his neck.
It's a simple set-up, there's not a lot to the story, but it's a harrowing predicament, children in danger from predatory strangers, and co-directors David Charbonier & Justin Powell direct it quite well with tension, suspense and visceral moments of violence that keep things taught. Thankfully the kiddie-rape stuff is not the focus, but the inherent danger is palpable and the perpetrators are disgusting pieces of shit.
The kid actors are superb, offering nuanced performances that both sell the vulnerability of their youth and the summoning of inner strength and determination to extract themselves from the precarious situation they now find themselves immersed in. With that said, they way they manage to get over on the kidnapper and her client somewhat stretches believability, but I was more than willing to go along with it. C'mon, no one wants to see innocent kids harmed and as a parent I would want to think my own children would muster the strength and courage of these kiddos.
While not a gore-fest by any stretch it is a visceral experience, some of the onscreen violence includes a head smashing into a table corner, a knife would to the guts, and a finger snipped off with gardening snips - and that finger indeed deserved it fate. The film is well shot with drab colors, the dingy atmosphere looming heavy over the entire film. I also enjoyed the numerous nods to Kubrick's The Shining; by way of the chopping down of a bathroom door, the would-be savior axed unexpectedly, and a maze-like forest among them. It's a very solid children-in-peril thriller, while it's not reinventing anything it's quite well-executed, superbly acted and the atmosphere and tension are terrific, a real nail-biter.
Audio/Video: The Boy Behind The Door (2021) arrives on region A/B friendly Blu-ray from Acorn Media International in 1080p HD widescreen (2.38:1). Not an overly vibrant picture, a lot of it happens within the darkness, and I found the interior shots of the house particularly dark and impenetrable. There's some black crush throughout that saps shadow detail, but it's not ruinous, just not ideal. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. It's an decently atmospheric sound design with a solid score and creepy interior acoustics. Extras are slim, we get a 2-min Music Video and a brief 3-min Bloopers reel.
Special Features:
- Bloopers (3 min)
- The Boy Behind the Door Music Video (2 min)
- Bloopers (3 min)
- The Boy Behind the Door Music Video (2 min)
Screenshots from the Acorn Media International Blu-ray:
