BRAHMS: THE BOY II: One Boy Is Enough
Warning: Spoilers for The Boy ahead.
After director William Brent Bell and scriptwriter, Stacey Menear , both stayed on board to create the second chapter of The Boy, one would think it would be something as thrilling and shocking as the first one. There is probably nothing more disturbing than a grown man living inside the walls, pretending to be dead and more so – to be a little boy. That element, so real, so possible to happen in a real-life, made the production a fascinating picture, at least for me. Sorrowfully, that’s not the case when it comes to the second part of the franchise.
After the brutal burglary that leaves Liza ( Katie Holmes ) battered and her son Jude ( Christopher Convery ) traumatized, the family alongside the father, Sean ( Owain Yeoman ), decides to take a mini getaway from the city and escape the place where the dark crime took place. They travel to the little countryside house that happens to be close to Heelshire Mansion. We know that the building in which years earlier, Greta ( Lauren Cohan ) babysat a doll named Brahms, hides brutal past. Not long after arriving at the destination, Jude finds a doll of (surprise!) Brahms buried in the woods. Unaware of the previous events, Liza lets him take the item to their house. Surely enough, strange things start to happen after that.
Believe Women For Once
The first problem with Brahms: The Boy II is the script. Menear goes into the same annoying horror tropes and creates the character of a wife and a mother who’s the only one to see strange things revolving around her son and the doll. After discussing it with her husband, he doesn’t believe her. Sean even goes as far as accusing Liza of doing the things that occur around the house and neighborhood. The whole situation is getting a little old and a little too easy. In the aftermath, Liza is the one to fight and battle seemingly invisible forces. She tries to resolve the problem and make Jude talk to her – since the accident, the boy hasn’t said a word. Then, of course, his parents hear him talking to Brahms.
The creators did one thing right. It seems the sequel can stand alone, so if someone didn’t see the first one, one shouldn’t be completely lost while watching the second one. The plot works in the first part of the film and the viewer can’t predict what will happen next. Does Brahms possess Jude and make him do things? Or maybe the real Brahms somehow still hides in the area? Then, we see the doll moving, and we are utterly lost when it comes to the point of the plot. Is it paranormal, or is it still a chilling, real-life thriller? The answers come in the second part of the film.
Lost Somewhere In The Middle
As mentioned above, we lose the sense of Brahms: The Boy II somewhere in the middle. The feelings that surrounded us after the first part are gone once Jude’s cousins come to visit. Bell and Menear have taken all the best parts of The Boy, the idea of a real-life horror, and then proceed to smash it with paranormal stuff, which just doesn’t make sense at the end.
Suddenly, we experience one character hovering above the floor and the doll, which somehow embodies Charles Lee Ray, aka Chucky – just without actually talking and walking. Once you decide to watch Brahms: The Boy II, believe me – you’ll understand this comparison. Then, the creators proceed to make some sense of the Brahms doll existing without the real Brahms. They try very hard, going into the pasts of previous residents of Heelshire Mansion dating back to the 1800s. But that just comes out to be very unbelievable, not to mention that the whole plot of the film is extremely drawn out – especially the second half.
What’s good about the horror is Holmes. The actress hasn’t been on screen for a while; hence it was nice to be in her company. However, the actor who plays Jude, Christopher Convery, works better when he was unable to talk. His character cannot speak – this happens to a lot of kids who experience trauma. The young actor mostly delivers with his facial expressions. That changes at the end of the film, but his lines sound artificial. When it comes to Yeoman – he’s there but not truly there. The actor’s main task as a father is not to believe his wife, be mostly at work and appear at the very end of hard situations, so he just saves the situation as the “real man.”
Just Don’t
If you plan to watch it – maybe just don’t. You’ll be much better off when you’re left with impressions after The Boy. While the story of Brahms is an interesting one, it only works once. There is no doubt that both are passionate about the subject. We have to admit this – antique dolls are spooky. The motive of the haunted/scary doll in films is a highly fascinating subject. In the end, the viewers often wonder if the said object is an embodiment of the doll owner or the item is simply possessed.
Brahms: The Boy II has good intentions, but they get lost in the middle. We shall hope we won’t have to experience a third boy because one of them is really enough.
Did you like Brahms: The Boy II? If so, what were your favorite and least favorite moments?
Brahms: The Boy II premiered on 21st o February 2020 in the US and UK.
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