The Paper Boy (1994)
Directed by Douglas Jackson
Have you ever caught just a piece of a movie, years ago but always remember it? I have, and luckily I remembered the name of it. This was back when I was around 13, I saw part of The Paper Boy at my friend Tom’s house and it stuck with me. I was able to find this on youtube, via VHS rip which is awesome haha.
The story for this is cliché, especially now. Johnny the neighbor boy is obsessed with the woman (Melissa) next door, not really as a love interest but more as a mother figure. It’s your typical unhinged person, being obsessed with someone and or their family and then trying to force their way in. We’ve seen it in movies like Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Single White Female, and countless others. Also its other foot is in the pool of evil kid movies, which c’mon there’s millions of those! Johnny starts off killing an old lady to get her daughter Melissa to show up. Once Melissa arrives, Johnny acts innocent enough, but we quickly learn how unhealthy is obsession is and how truly evil he becomes. He shows up uninvited, lets himself in the house when no one is there, keeps a shrine to Melissa and her daughter, just your run of the mill creepy shit. This basically boils over into Melissa fighting for her life while Johnny is on a murderous rampage.
The acting is ok. Sometimes I think Marc Marut does a great job as Johnny and other times I’m not quite sure. His work is uneven in this movie, but he shows flashes of brilliance. Alexandra Paul plays Melissa and she is truly gorgeous, and acts decently well in this movie. She shows emotions rather well and is believable. Frances Bay makes an appearance. Don’t recognize the name? She was Happy Gilmores grandma lol! No one else is really all that interesting except maybe Brenda, the party girl that becomes paralyzed falling off an antenna tower.
There isn’t much in the way of special effects. Not a lot of gore, not much needed honestly. The kills aren’t all that elaborate, a lot aren’t even kills. The grandma is smothered, Brenda falls off the antenna tower, and Johnny’s father gets bashed in the head with a golf club. This movie relies more on suspense and the deranged mind of Johnny than it does gory kills or special effects.
So it has been at least 20 years since I saw part of this movie until finally seeing the whole thing. I never hyped it up, which is good, I just remember the title and thinking it was interesting. Thanks to youtube for having this, or at least thanks to the account that uploaded it I guess. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, its rather forgettable, from everyone, but me I suppose haha. I give The Paper Boy a C.
