Bill Skarsgård Doesn't Speak A Single Word In His Underrated 2023 Sci-Fi Action Movie

It's funny how Hollywood has been desperately trying to find the secret recipe for adapting video games ("The Last of Us" and the new "Resident Evil" came close to cracking it) for years, and yet there's a dystopian action flick from 2023 that seemingly wanted to be one. Moritz Mohr's "Boy Kills World" has all the makings of a typical game: a wordless protagonist played by a ripped Bill Skarsgård, absurd meta humor, a paper-thin story, and an abundance of gory action scenes firing on all cylinders. If you ask me, it also would've sold better as a game than a movie, which ended up flying under the radar without making any kind of splash either critically or commercially.

Its plot follows a nameless Boy (Skarsgård) in a totalitarian city after he witnesses the murder of his beloved sister and mother by the head of the Van Der Koy family, Hilda (Famke Janssen), who rules over their society with an iron fist. She holds an annual event called The Culling where 12 people chosen by her die on live television for her family's entertainment. For a reason unbeknownst to us, she leaves Boy for dead after killing his loved ones.

He's found by a Shaman (Yayan Ruhian) in the woods, who decides to train him to become the ultimate warrior so he can take revenge on the Van Der Koys for destroying his life and family. It takes several years until he becomes skilled enough — during which he also turns into a man — to hunt down every member of the Van Der Koys, and he does just that, only to realize he's been fed lies about what really happened and who he is.

Serving as a straightforward revenge story, "Boy Kills World" virtually resembles every basic action RPG based around the trope, built on relentless combat, with the occasional dialog to dump some mandatory info on us in order to understand what our protagonist is fighting for.

If you're a devoted gamer or a cinephile with a penchant for revenge movies, you can anticipate nearly every single beat that's coming your way in "Boy Kills World," including the few twists the film holds. But let's be honest, nobody watches a flick like this for the story. It's a nice bonus if the plot is at least somewhat coherent overall, but we really are here to see Skarsgård chop down every bad guy with his weapon of choice — let that be guns, katanas, or his bloody bare fists.

I wouldn't call the fight choreography innovative or particularly outstanding on any level, but the fact that the movie has some at all is already a good sign. It comes in various forms — from gunfights to fistfights to sword carnage — infused with a large dose of adrenaline and tons of guilty pleasure, frequently underscored by a silly yet apt dark humor that may be the best trick "Boy Kills World" has up its sleeve. The voiceover for Boy — Skarsgård doesn't utter a word in the entire movie — provided by voice-acting legend H. Jon Benjamin isn't just characteristically hilarious and spot-on, but also another evocation to further strengthen the film's video game aesthetics. It's a winning idea that immediately sets the tone for what's to come. I wish that would apply to the ice-thin drama, too, but you can't win them all in an actioner like this.

"IT" veteran Skarsgård playing weirdos, monsters and maniacs has become a thing for him (his recent roles in "Dead Man's Wire," "Nosferatu," and "The Crow" are a testament to that), and he usually excels in these parts. "Boy Kills World" is no exception, since he needs to rely on nothing but body language and facial expressions here as a wordless hero, in addition to his character's martial arts moves, a lot of which he performed himself after receiving training for two months. For lack of a better term, he's become the poster boy for this action flick for a reason.

Yet the supporting cast (filled with old and new familiar faces) does a great job here, too, turning "Boy Kills World" into a lot of dumb fun. Janssen playing the slightly insane Hilda Van Der Koy is a top-notch choice, alongside Brett Gelman and Michelle Dockery portraying her loony siblings, as well as Sharlto Copley playing the dim-witted, slimy husband of the latter. And then there's Jessica Rothe from "Happy Death Day" as the primary security system of the Koys, and Isaiah Mustafa's excellent comic relief Benny uttering nonsensical sentences with perfect cadence and timing (the greatest running gag in the feature by far).

I won't lie, I wish "Boy Kills World" was a little more original and creative in its execution of the fight scenes as well as some narrative choices, but overall it's not the worst pick if you're hunting for light-hearted fun driven by action rather than character and plot. Despite its strengths, though, Mohr's feature was a box office failure, grossing only $3.2 million worldwide against its estimated $18 million budget — as well as splitting the critics. Still, it definitely deserves that underrated label.