Boarding School

The boy Jacob Felsen (Luke Prael) lives with his mother and stepfather and has frequent nightmares. He is bullied at school and when his unknown grandmother dies, Jacob attends the funeral and becomes attracted to her, wearing her clothes and listening to her records. When his stepfather sees Jacob wearing his grandmother dress, his wife and him decide to send Jacob to a boarding school for outcasts and misfits in a creepy mansion in the middle of nowhere. Jacob is introduced to the principal and teacher, Dr. Sherman (Will Patton) and his wife Mrs. Sherman (Tammy Blanchard), and soon he meets his six other mates. Along the days, Jacob befriends them and together with the young Christine (Sterling Jerins), they note that something strange is happening in the school. What will they do to survive?

'Boarding School" is a weird but worthwhile watching psychological horror film. The locations are creepy and the young cast has great performance. The pace is slow but builds tension and the last minutes are intense with many plot points. The conclusion is great. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

This is not your running around screaming getting slashed kind of horror movie - if it is a horror movie at all really. It certainly touches into the genre, but the story really crosses a lot of genre boundaries.

I found it compelling watching after the first five or ten minutes. You are not given all of the answers straight away - you have to wait - work it out for yourself - a gentle tease that keeps you glued to it.

The story is good, although there are a couple of parts that don't seem to fit very well initially, but make sense much later on.

The performances by the cast - especially the younger ones - is superb.

Well worth watching - but best suspend your expectations and enjoy the ride.

This film makes the most of a modest budget. I watched it well aware that it had received fairly horrible reviews from most film critics, expecting to turn it off after a few minutes. I was surprised to find a film with such an air of specificity to its details. There are actual layers to what goes on in this film, and actual depth to the character development and performances. Although the plot does indulge in the heightened excesses of its horror genre (at times it seemed to be keyed in at the level of a fairy tale, a point which is nodded to in the screenplay), the majority of this film maintains an admirable level of meaningful, lived-in realism, tackling everything from generational trauma to parental disappointment to bullying to gender identity and more in a nuanced and intriguing way.

I guess what I'm saying is that so many low budget horror movies are full of hackneyed tropes, pitiful jump scares, predictable twists, and dialogue that was clearly typed by a screenwriter onto a page and then read aloud by an actor. This movie, however, is refreshingly vibrant in addition to being highly entertaining. The camerawork is likewise skillful, and although I wouldn't say this movie is actually scary--not by a long shot--it is quite suspenseful.

Plus, I gotta give extra credit to any movie with the audacity to execute its action climax with its boy star wearing the costume that Luke Prael does here.

It has been some time since I have seen a kid with such pur acting chops. I loved Luke Prael as Jacob. He really keeps us wondering what is going on in that expansive imagination/head of his. His performance was near perfect alongside some other amazing young stars; not forgetting to mention a particularly breathtaking performance from the young starlet. This is a must see for indie lovers and lovers of horror outside the box. Just watch this if you appreciate the art of acting. I foresee a long career for Prael...if he keps it up and chooses his scripts wisely he can and will become one of the greats.

At once odd, uncomfortable, and compelling, BOARDING SCHOOL covers a gamut of dysfunction and does so with genuine panache. The whole production is downright weird in the very best possible way, and its 105-minute running time passes in a flash.

An ensemble of young actors portraying outcasts and misfits drives the story, and each brings something noteworthy to the film; however, one actor rises far above the others.

BOARDING SCHOOL is anchored by a courageous performance from young actor Luke Prael that commands the audience's attention from the jump and never loosens its grip.

Prael, approximately 14 years old at the time of principal photography, acts rings around older, more experienced cast members. He expertly presents a character that's complex and (in many ways and on many levels) ambiguous. On appearance alone, he could embody Wednesday Addams or Damien Thorn with equal effect, and his confident gender play and eerie mystique are simultaneously magnetic and disquieting. Do we like him, fear him, empathize with him, or all of the above? People can decide for themselves, but one thing is clear: He's the best thing about a movie with a lot going for it.

That includes the script. The screenplay is well written, well plotted, original, and offers a comic sensibility that's as dark as they come. It also offers an offbeat subplot tied to the Holocaust that fits fairly well within the main story arc. Thankfully, writer/director Boaz Yakin exercises restraint in ensuring the subplot remains both relevant and present while not getting in the way of the main story. Simply put, it's an enhancement that, while perhaps not essential, is certainly interesting to have.

My only criticism of BOARDING SCHOOL is that it's occasionally uneven in tone. Elements of horror, comedy, drama, and mystery all compete for space, sometimes clashing-but never enough to derail the experience.

The big critics aren't fans of BOARDING SCHOOL, maybe because they seem to insist on classifying it strictly as a horror movie. It doesn't fit neatly into that box. They also misread queer subtext as explicit sexuality. It's not, and it makes one wonder if that's -- whether they know it or not -- their chief complaint.

I'm not sure what critics were looking for, but this time, I don't see their point of view.