- Director : Martin Owen
- Actors : Max Harwood, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Evan Ross, Ben Miller, Ashley Benson
- Studio : Well Go Usa
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Number of discs : 1
- Media Format : Subtitled, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 31 minutes
- Release date : December 20, 2022
Even though the inspirations behind The
Loneliest Boy in the World are fairly obvious, it is a film with an
identity crisis. The tone oscillates between gruesomely disgusting and sickly
sweet, with both often actively working against each other. Even more confused
is the sense of space, with a setting that is intended to be America despite
being shot in a gloomy UK city. Having the story set during the 1980s for no discernible
reason just adds to the confusion of the overall experience.
The biggest
issue of the film is a protagonist that is extremely difficult to like, both
because of the way he is written and portrayed. Oliver (Max Harwood) is a
socially withdrawn oddball following the accidental death of his mother, but
one gets the impression he was developmentally stunted even before her demise. Giving
off shades of Norman Bates and awkwardly forced attempts at innocent charm,
Harwood would have been better off if this character ended up in an actual
horror movie. Instead, the script tries desperately to get the audience to root
for and relate to him, but even the inclusion of contrived and cliché bullying
sequence is not enough to make him the least bit likeable.
The answer to
Oliver’s already weird behavior is to then have him affected by either a mental
break or some type of fantasy in which dead bodies he digs up from the local
cemetery become reanimated. Instead of horror carnage as most would expect from
a zombie film, these undead just become Oliver’s makeshift family and friends.
With varying success (ranging from bad to non-existent), these four undead
friends put on their best American accent and play house for Oliver as he builds
the confidence to become friends with a local girl named Chloe (Tallulah Haddon).
I get what The
Loneliest Boy in the World was going for. It couldn’t be more obvious that
director Martin Owen intended to duplicate Tim Burton’s use of dark imagery and
oddball characters in a romance, like Edward Scissorhands with toothless
zombies. The only thing Owen has proved is that Burton is not a filmmaker
easily imitated. The Loneliest Boy in the World doesn’t have much of anything
that works, from the horror to the romance. Worst of all, it is a dull film. This
doesn’t even work as something to have on in the background, because the
exaggerated and unrealistic performances are grating when they should be
endearing.
The Blu-ray
release of The Loneliest Boy in the World comes with a behind-the-scenes
featurette for those who want to punish themselves further by listening to
those who made the film try their hardest to defend and praise a movie that
doesn’t deserve it. There is also a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
4/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 3.5/10
Historical
Significance: 0/10
Special Features: 3/10
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