THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR on Shudder is a brutal horror movie that touches on various extremely dark subjects. It’s not easy to watch but does have some awesome moments and great performances. Read our full Boy Behind the Door movie review and check it out on Shudder!

THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR is a new horror movie on Shudder. The cast is small but excellent and I love most of this movie. Still, there are elements of the story that feel too forced. Added more for shock value (which isn’t that shocking when you’ve already guessed it) and to “shake it up”.

However, having said that, this Shudder addition is one hell of a brutal horror movie. The story involves child abuse and sex trafficking, so we’re dealing with extremely dark subjects. Several parts of this movie are tough to watch which is especially due to some amazing performances by the child actors.

Continue reading our Boy Behind the Door movie review below.

Not an easy subject

If you’re okay with watching stories that involve child abuse, then this horror movie is definitely worth watching. I know some horror fans just cannot watch movies that involve this (like I loathe movies where animals are harmed).

However, for this story, we experience everything from their point of view which makes all the difference.

Also, it feels like everyone involved with this project really wanted to show the extremely dark and brutal side of child abuse. All while also making it clear that this story is truly about the experience of the boys. Not the terrible adults that create the awful situations.

The Boy Behind the Door – Shudder Review

The cast of The Boy Behind the Door

For me, what drew me in was the fact that Kristin Bauer van Straten was part of the cast. She’ll always be the brilliant Pam De Beaufort from True Blood to me. Even though she has gone on to be Maleficent in Once Upon a Time, be in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals (2016), and most recently delivered a very memorable performance in the thriller Paradise Cove.

RECOMMENDED READING

Our review of Paradise Cove which has Kristin Bauer van Straten in a very different role >

However much I came for Kristin Bauer van Straten, the two young boys that are kidnapped, are what truly make this movie.

Bobby is played by Lonnie Chavis who’s been in the Award-winning series This Is Us from the beginning. Also, he played the lead in the fantasy drama The Water Man (2020) on Netflix. Kevin is played by Ezra Dewey who went on to star in The Djinn which was released recently. Both are brilliant (truly brilliant!) in this movie, but especially Ezra Dewey has a lot of tough scenes!

Watch The Boy Behind the Door on Shudder!

The filmmaker duo David Charbonier and Justin Powell is behind this new horror movie. David Charbonier and Justin Powell share both the director credit and are screenplay co-writers. This is the feature film debut by both and if you see pictures of them, you’ll feel like you’re watching adult versions of the two young stars.

That’s probably why the friendship between the boys in The Boy Behind the Door is such a strong and positive part of this movie. I would gladly watch more stories with these characters and have already watched the follow-up movie by this filmmaker duo. It’s called The Djinn and has one of the stars from The Boy Behind the Door in the lead.

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Our review of The Djinn by David Charbonier and Justin Powell here >

You should definitely check out both The Boy Behind the Door on Shudder and look up The Djinn afterwards. For the record, I would give The Boy Behind the Door a solid 3½ out of 5, but we don’t do half stars. Also, I felt they could do even better and make sharper movies, which I feel these filmmakers achieved with their follow-up horror movie.

THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR will be out on Shudder on July 29, 2021.

Details

Directors: Justin Powell & David Charbonier
Writers: Justin Powell & David Charbonier
Stars: Lonnie Chavis, Ezra Dewey, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Scott Michael Foster, Micah Hauptman

Plot

A night of unimaginable terror awaits twelve-year-old Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and his best friend, Kevin (Ezra Dewey), when they are abducted on their way home from school. Managing to escape his confines, Bobby navigates the dark halls, praying his presence goes unnoticed as he avoids his captor at every turn. With no means of calling for help and miles of dark country in every direction, Bobby embarks on a rescue mission, determined to get himself and Kevin out alive… or die trying.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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