You’ll Want to See Boy Kills World, the Quirky New Revenge Epic Filmed in Cape Town

BOY KILLS WORLD

Director: Moritz Mohr
Producers: Sam Raimi (Raimi Productions) and Roy Lee (Vertigo Entertainment)
Screenplay: Tyler Burton Smith, Arend Remmers
Story/based on the short film of the same name by: Moritz Mohr
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, Michelle Dockery, Famke Janssen, Sharlto Copley, Brett Gelman, Isaiah Mustafa, Andrew Koji
Genre: Dystopian action thriller, horror, comedy
Running Time: 111 minutes
Age restriction: 18

After its successful world premiere at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival last year, Boy Kills World is set for release in South Africa, Germany and the United States on Friday, 26 April 2024. This fever-dream of a film crosses genre boundaries, and simultaneously shocks and delights.

Writer and director Moritz Mohr has created a head-spinning debut alongside the inimitable talents of famous horror producers Sam Raimi (The Grudge, Spider-Man, Umma, The Gift) and Roy Lee (The Ring, IT, Barbarian). In a sickeningly violent, dystopian world that’s also equally colourful and funny, a young man must become an instrument of death.

The movie was filmed in Cape Town and several local actors can be seen in featured extra roles.

What is Boy Kills World about?

An elite dictatorship regularly “culls” members of the public in a gruesome display. However, it’s no ordinary massacre – it’s at an arena for all to see, sponsored by a cute, popular cereal brand (whose mascots dance to cheer on the event) and televised for the nation.

Boy, whose parents were killed by the evil leaders in front of him during his childhood (Batman, anyone?) was made deaf and mute in the same confrontation – and now, as a young adult, seeks revenge. Teaming up with martial arts (and other) fighters on the same mission, and guided by a mysterious shaman, the young warrior embarks on a gory journey towards toppling the deranged dictator.

Boy Kills World is an arcade game gone wrong; live-action yet utterly removed from our world and terrifyingly dystopian. Kaleidoscopic punches and jumps lunge out of the screen, expressing blood lust from every angle. At the same time, the protagonist’s sincerity and deep sadness underscore the movie with real humanness, turning the horror back into itself even during moments of both wry humour and playground-like scenes.

Boy Kills World presents a revenge thriller premise, with a focus on taking out an evil elite – and has many reviewers making John Wick comparisons.

Who stars in Boy Kills World?

After playing the child-eating, psycho clown Pennywise in It, Bill Skarsgård takes the lead Boy Kills World with grace and ease. Taking on a mute character is arguably a challenging ballgame, and he also underwent an intense two-month crash course in martial arts acting.

He told Entertainment Weekly: “This was an incredible journey into something completely new for me… I had two months to learn how to pretend how to fight well”. The actor has been gaining a lot of acclaim recently and is soon set to play Eric Draven in the long-awaited Crow remake and Count Orlok in the remake of Nosferatu by Robert Eggers.

While Skarsgard doesn’t speak in the movie, his strange and comedic internal monologue, based on a game character, is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, of Archer and Bob’s Burgers fame. Boy Kills World also elicits superb performances from Jessica Rothe, Sharlto Copley, Yayan Ruhian and Famke Janssen.

When is the Boy Kills World release date, and where can we see it?

Boy Kills World is screening in South African cinemas nationwide on Friday, 26 April 2024. Tickets for the film can be booked at Ster Kinekor, Nu Metro and the Labia Theatre.