The Boy

Set in the mountains of the American West during the summer of 1989, this drama and horror film follows nine-year-old Ted Henley. Ted and his father run a remote motel along a quiet highway, where the boy is largely left to his own devices. As Ted struggles with isolation and neglect, he develops a dangerous fascination with death and killing. The arrival of a stranger who stays at the motel creates an unusual friendship with the boy, which causes tension with his father and accelerates Ted's descent into violent impulses.

The film was directed by Craig William Macneill, marking the start of a directorial sequence that later included Lizzie in 2018. The screenplay was written by Macneill and Clay McLeod Chapman, with production support from Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, and Douglas Brown. The cast features Emma Breeze as Ted, David Morse and Mike Vogel in roles as the father, and Rainn Wilson as William Colby. Other cast members include Bill Sage and Zuleikha Robinson. Audience reception was mixed, with the movie receiving a 5.5 rating on IMDb from 5,900 votes and a 5.8 rating on TMDB from 220 votes.