"Brahms: The Boy 2" Movie Review

Sometimes, sequels should just never be made. The first film succeeded in having a steady buildup and a twist ending that made sense. The expectations were raised when a sequel was announced and now that I've see it, I feel cheated. There's a long line of horror sequels that fell to the wayside by resorting to cheap thrills rather than trying to match the original.

The film follows a family who, after a traumatic burglary, moves to a house in the countryside to get away from the city and try to regroup. Son Jude finds a doll buried in the woods and uses it as a way to work through his trauma. But, after a while, Jude starts talking to the doll and acting strangely. Jude's mom Liza is desperate to find answers and will do what she has to to get her son back.

(Warning, possible spoilers.) The thing that brought the film down wasn't the writing or the acting, but the story itself. If you need a recap, the first Boy film used a lot of misdirection, making you think for most of the film that the doll could be haunted when in fact the real Brahms was hiding in the walls the whole time, manipulating and terrifying the family from his hideout. The sequel, however takes a different approach. The problem with that is the fact that it changes its own mythos. The doll was never haunted. But now the sequel wants us to believe that the doll was actually some sort of possessing spirit and was forcing people to do what it wanted. It could move on its own and speak telepathically. Then the big showdown went all kinds of crazy. In summary, the sequel made zero sense.

There were positives, however. The film was well-paced and, had it been a standalone film, might have turned out good if it didn't already have a deep backstory. Katie Holmes and Christopher Convery were fantastic in the film. Christopher was able to make you feel uneasy when necessary and sympathize with him other times.

In conclusion, the film has its good parts but ultimately fails because it went against its own setup. Honestly, a sequel wasn't even necessary and now that we have one, it really adds nothing to the story. The way the sequel ends almost sets up a third entry which would possibly bring it full circle. But at this point, I'm not sure if I trust the writers to not half-ass it again. I give Brahms: The Boy 2 a 1.5 out of 4.