Author(s): Andrew Frost

Film

The Boys offers perhaps the most chilling depiction in Australian film of the violence within a family, and where it may eventually lead. Based on the controversial stage play by Gordon Graham, The Boys is a terrifying and unflinching analysis of the violence that lurks in the heart of Australian society. Frost contextualises the major thematic concerns of the film into the broader context of social anxieties about violence, crime and morality. He offers a comparison to other Australian films - both before and since 1998 - that have examined similar concerns and issues, and explores The Boys and its achievements as a major piece of Australian filmmaking.