"The Boy Behind the Door" doesn't bring anything earth-shattering or new into the table minus its decision to use younger protagonists. But for what its worth, Directors David Charbonier and Justin Powell was able to deliver a thrilling and heart-racing experience out of nowhere.
Bestfriends Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey) are kidnapped and taken to an isolated house in the middle of an oil well. The kidnapper takes Kevin away while leaves Bobby inside the car's trunk. Eventually, Bobby manages to escape. While attempting to leave the house, Bobby hears the screams for help of Kevin and he decides that he will not leave his best friend behind.
You would think that focusing on two young protagonists would lighten down the tension and tone of "The Boy Behind the Door" but this was simply not the case. In fact, if you're familiar with films of similar ilk such as "Don't Breathe", then you'll know what kind of stress and fun you'll have with "The Boy Behind the Door". Admittedly, part of this anxiety was brought by a lot of logical loopholes and weird and poor decision-making by our characters. There will be times where you'll be frustrated at how illogical our protagonists will come off - and it's not because that they are kids but these came off as decisions designed to conform to the narrative. On the acting side, we found Lonnie Chavis as the heart and soul of the film. His performance was great overall especially in eking out the tension and fear in scenes. Unfortunately, we couldn't say the same for Ezra Dewey with his performance coming off as unnatural from time to time. Overall, "The Boy Behind the Door" has narrative and character limitations integrated to its core sadly. We wished it could have been a lot let forced in tiny bouts but the undeniable tense-filled experience was extremely fun and exciting.
Rating: 3 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- great directing that brought in a highly-tense experience throughout the film's runtime
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- has narrative and character limitations that are frustrating
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