Boy Kills World

“Boy Kills World may seem like an inclusive feature, but underneath the admittedly fun carnage is a feeble attempt at genuine representation.”

Title: Boy Kills World (2024)
Director: Moritz Mohr 👨🏼🇩🇪
Writers: Screenplay by Tyler Burton Smith 👨🏼🇨🇦, Arend Remmers 👨🏼🇩🇪, and Moritz Mohr 👨🏼🇩🇪

Reviewed by Gavin 👨🏼🇬🇧🌈♿

—MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD—

Technical: 3/5

So far, 2024 has been hit-or-miss with action flicks. Monkey Man and The Beekeeper have kept genre fans entertained, whilst Lift and Argylle have landed with a thud. Boy Kills World, the gleefully gory feature debut from director Moritz Mohr, sits somewhere in the middle.

The hyper-violent revenge movie that takes inspiration from video games, slapstick horror, and Hong Kong cinema. Mohr’s camera glides through vicious fistfights and explosive shootouts as the titular Boy (Bill Skarsgård) hunts down the Van Der Koy family who rule the film’s fictional totalitarian state—and who murdered Boy’s mother and sister when he was a child. Through several training montages, we see Boy mold his body into a weapon with guidance from the hallucinogenic-loving Shaman (Yayan Ruhian). He’s also accompanied by an inner voice (H. Jon Benjamin) who narrates the film for Boy, who’s Deaf and doesn't verbalize aloud.

Leaning into the absurdity of the world Mohr, Boy Kills World is mostly a bloody good time. Skarsgård’s committed physical performance, paired with Benjamin’s typical deadpan voice-over, thankfully provides more laughs than cringe-inducing moments. But it’s the fight choreography that takes center stage here. Brutal and intense, standout scenes include the horrifying use of a cheese grater and an extended skirmish that lets martial artist Ruhian show off his silat moves.

Whilst the roaming camera brings a kineticism to the scenes, it sometimes gets in the way of the stellar action. Narratively, the film introduces some intriguing thoughts around the cases for and against violence, and there’s a deeply tragic theme of victimization at the centre of everything. But the filmmakers don’t explore those ideas enough to actually say anything. A third-act twist also threatens to derail the entire experience, bringing the pacing to a grinding halt. There’s a leaner version of Boy Kills World that forgoes some thematic ideas and worldbuilding in favor of tighter pacing and more gory fun.

Gender: 3/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE

Boy Kills World is about, well, a boy, but there are some noticeable ladies in his world. Accompanying Boy on his quest is his deceased sister Mina (Quinn Copeland), who he imagines right before him. She’s full of life, distracting Boy with fantastical ideas and macarons of all things, but Mina—at least the visions of her—essentially acts as a moral compass for Boy as his kill count grows throughout the film.

Other women take on antagonistic roles, with Hilda and Melanie Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen and Michelle Dockery, respectively) pulling the strings in the hellish state they control. The estranged matriarch Hilda is Boy’s ultimate target: She's the one who pulled the trigger on his family. And Melanie controls not just the state media but the men of the Van Der Koy family. With limited screen time, Hilda and Melanie stand out as deranged, sadistic villains in fun scene-chewing performances.

Finally, there’s the thorn in Boy’s side, a deadly fighter (Jessica Rothe) working for the Van Der Koys. Wearing a motorcycle helmet that displays images and text on the visor, her character becomes more entwined with the plot as the film goes on. Her role is very much tied to Boy’s journey, but Rothe brings an alluring fury to the character and shows off impressive stunt work.

Ultimately, the women of Boy Kills World are rarely given the time to explore themselves outside of Boy’s orbit. But when they do get the chance, they shine in weird and wonderful ways.

Race: 2/5

Shot in South Africa, Boy Kills World depicts a post-apocalyptic world. Surface-level diversity appears in the background, whether through non-speaking roles by actors of various ethnicities, or seen in the production design: mostly American with generic Asian visuals rooted in Orientalism. In supporting roles, the Shaman is presented as a typical Asian martial arts master with quirks that barely elevate the character. Thankfully, the filmmakers let the Indonesian action star Ruhian unleash his Silat prowess, making him more memorable than a throwaway stereotype. There really isn’t anything quite like silat, with its beautifully ferocious form, and Ruhian continues his mission to promote the martial art and inspire others to pick it up through his entertaining performances.

Resistance fighter Bennie, played by Black American Isaiah Mustafa, is the only Black actor with a speaking role. He serves a single purpose: a running joke where Boy struggles to read Bennie’s mumbling lips. There is also Basho, a key ally Boy makes early in the film. Played by Andrew Koji, a half-English, half-Japanese British actor, Basho is also a resistance fighter with madcap but endearing energy. But it’s egregious that the cast of white villains get more screen time (and more character development, even) than the film’s characters of color.

Bonus for Disability: +0.00

A big part of Boy Kills World’s premise is how the capable warrior at the center of the film is Deaf and nonverbal. The film never laughs at him for being disabled; in fact, comedy is often mined from the ableist world around him. For example, Boy resorts to reading lips, but it's an imperfect solution that occasionally leads to bizarre interpretations of what was said.

Unfortunately, Boy is cast with Hearing actor Skarsgård. Not only is the casting of Deaf roles with Hearing actors a tiresome Hollywood practice, it also stunts the complexity of the role itself. Outside of reading lips and two tiny instances of sign language, nothing is shown about how Boy navigates an ableist world or how he adapts to it. Even if the filmmakers wanted to avoid falling into trauma porn by instead empowering their Deaf protagonist through conventional means, there’s a sense that not much genuine thought and care went into the project. The film instead relying on a one-size-fits-all solution of making him an unstoppable killing machine.

Mediaversity Grade: C- 2.67/5

Boy Kills World may seem like an inclusive feature, but underneath the admittedly fun carnage is a feeble attempt at genuine representation. The non-white cast members make the most out of the little they’re given, but far better and more authentic action romps exist. In this year alone, Monkey Man gave us a similar blood-soaked thrill ride with a Hindu twist, while Marvel's Echo delivered a Deaf lead—played by a Deaf, disabled, and Native actress—with plenty of heart-pumping combat to enjoy. As it stands, Boy Kills World fades into the crowd as just another gimmicky gore-fest.

Like Boy Kills World? Try these other Deaf action heroes.

Grade: CLiJune 14, 2024