The Boy - La maledizione di Brahms

Brahms: The Boy II is a 2020 American supernatural horror film starring Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Owain Yeoman, and Christopher Convery. A stand-alone sequel to the 2016 film The Boy, it is directed by William Brent Bell and written by Stacey Menear, the respective director and writer of the original film. The plot follows a young boy who, after moving into a mansion with his parents following a traumatizing incident, finds a life-like doll he becomes attached to.

I was looking forward to watching this film, the original was a pleasant surprise for me and a film I have rewatched several times since it's release. This film would've benefitted more from a little better direction - the film follows Liza (Katie Holmes) trying to rebuild her life after a violent burglary took place whilst she was home with her son. Who, now traumatised by the ordeal only speaks with a notepad.

The film relies too much on dream sequences and jump scares and not enough on genuine frighting moments, which are much more effective. I felt the film for the most part was more about the family dynamic of the two parents and the son, with horror moments placed in between without much effort.

As the film begins it's third act, some revelations are revealed that, as other users have mentioned, tarnish the original films ending and make you question what the filmmakers were thinking. The films strong points in my opinion are the performances of the three leads, who are clearly giving their all despite what they are working with. Katie Holmes is great in the lead role and I've always wished she was in more films and the actor playing her son is also rather good. The film as a whole though is disappointing.

5/10

The first movie was a good horror with twists and a creepy doll and atmosphere. This has none of that. It's just a build up to absolutely nothing. Where you feel the movie should start it ends. Worst movie I've seen at the cinema and I've seen a lot of cheap Blumhouse movies. Wish I'd waited for the digital version.

I don't see many horror films, but I know a bad one when I see it. In what is most definitely one of the more unnecessary sequels Hollywood has ever attempted, The Boy II is unoriginal, bland, and just plain dumb. Sure it will have you jumping a few times here and there, but you never truly feel any sort of danger for the lead characters. And even if you did, it's not like the film made you care about them anyway. Especially after now seeing The Invisible Man, this is not how you should spend your time at the theater.

3.5/10

At one point I was like " Is something going to happend ? ". I asked myself that 1 hour into the movie knowing they had only 25 minutes left to finished with something that makes sens. The first movie really had an impact on me because I was not expecting the end at all and I was hoping to have the same feeling about this one. Or at least something that make sens with the end of the previous one. But I feel like they used the easy way out with that predictable ending.

Brahms: The Boy II takes forward the story of the creepy porcelain doll, seen in The Boy(2016). Liza(Katie Holmes), her husband Sean(Owain Yeoman) & their son Jude(Christopher Convery), move into a house next to the Heelshire Mansion. Jude befriends a porcelain yet realistic looking doll, called Brahms.

Brahms: The Boy II is a below average film. It totally disregards everything that made The Boy(2016) a memorable horror/thriller movie. Returning director William Brent Bell should not have made this film, in the first place. If it was studio pressure, they should have only made this movie, if the script was as unique as its predecessor. Katie Holmes is great as Liza. Owain Yeoman is brilliant as Sean. Christopher Convery is a complete letdown, as Jude. Ralph Ineson is effective as Joseph. Brahms: The Boy II is not at all worth watching. Give this complete disappointment a miss, and re-watch the first one instead.