Brahms: The Boy II (2020) User Reviews (309)

It's not terrible but it sort of ruins the original

[jtindahouse · 6/10 · 24 February 2020]

There's a lot to consider when reviewing 'Brahms: The Boys 2'. It would be impossible to do so without going into spoilers for both films unfortunately, so please be warned. As its own film I actually kind of liked it. The problem is that it kind of ruins what made the first film so great. The first film had a great twist where we are led to believe the doll is evil the entire movie, when it reality it is someone in the walls controlling it. Even though that movie had other flaws, that's still a great twist. This movie says screw that the doll was possessed the entire time and was controlling the man in the walls.

The film is riddled with dream sequences and needless, unearned jump-scares. The jump-scares were always going to be there, but I still feel dream sequences are the worst thing a horror film can do. They are so lazy and such a cheat. Having one is bad enough, but having multiple ones is inexcusable. The film is never overly scary. There is one sequence where Katie Holmes' character is behind the walls herself that is reasonably tense, but that's about it. The film works more in terms of being an interesting mystery. You know the original's twist and so what you are seeing is not making sense and you are asked to work out what is going on.

I had forgotten what a terrific actor Ralph Ineson is. He isn't in a lot of scenes but when he is he is captivating to watch and listen to. I'm a little torn on this film and how I feel about it. It was probably better than I expected going in. I do wish they had kept the supernatural element out of it though, because to me that was the biggest strength of the original. There are a million possessed doll films out there already. All I do know though is that this series is in a better place than the 'Annabelle' one.

Hey Jude, don't trust your doll. Dig a deep hole and let it rot there...

[Coventry · 4/10 · 30 October 2021]

Hopefully you read/hummed this review's subject title in the exact same way as you would sing the lyrics to The Beatles' classic song "Hey Jude". Just checking...

I rather dug "The Boy", William Brent Bell's first film from 2016. It had a fairly original concept, and made good use of the constantly sinister atmosphere and a couple of effectively unsettling moments. A sequel was inevitable, and although overall very watchable and adequately made, "The Boy II" is the most stereotypical, by-the-numbers and clichéd sequel there can be.

Katie Holmes (since many years in desperate need of a career reboot) depicts a mom who, together with her son, went through a traumatizing home-jacking experience. Since then, mommy suffers from anxiety and nightmares, while her 8-year-old son Jude stopped talking altogether. In an attempt to process the events, the family moves to a vacationing house in the countryside. At the estate surrounding an old gothic mansion, Jude finds an antique porcelain doll buried in the ground. What initially looks like an efficient auxiliary to help Jude communicate again, quickly turns into an even bigger nightmare because Brahms the doll takes full possession of the emotionally vulnerable child.

Every dreadful cliché you can think of features here: disturbing children's drawings, disappearing dogs, supposedly lifeless dolls turning their heads or disappearing in the blink of an eye, bullying teens getting what they deserve, etc... To make things even worse, "The Boy II" is entirely without blood, violence or casualties. A few fake scares and Katie Holmes' terrified grimaces are not enough to make a horror film.

Who exactly is this movie for?

[AlsExGal · 4/10 · 1 March 2020]

Not to spoil it for you, but the first film made only a modest profit, and that is because it had a very low budget. That first film makes the events in this film impossible. So it looks like this is just a reboot attempt since Brahms is a very spooky looking doll and could probably sell horror movie tickets if the theme is franchised, except, to tell you the truth, this film is a bit of a bore.

The backstory is that there is a burglary that somehow traumatizes the young son in the family, although the details of this trauma are never told. So the family goes out to the country to regroup. The young son, who has simply stopped talking due to the burglary/assault, digs up the porcelain doll Brahms. He begins to bond with Brahms, as his parents sulk around the house, I guess feeling bad that they could not protect their son? So they let things go since at least the son is showing interest in something, but things get weird. Oh, and all you see of the burglar in the short scene dedicated to the incident is a shadow that makes it appear that the perpetrator was Popeye the Sailor.

There are some dream sequences that go nowhere as far as the story goes because it seems that there is not enough story here to flesh out a feature film length production. I would say don't waste the price of a movie ticket on this one. Instead, just stream it when it becomes available.

I gave this one 4/10 points because the atmosphere, cinematography, and acting are all very good. It's just too bad that the plot is boring and aimless.

Why do they do this?

[ileas · 1/10 · 21 February 2020]

Why ruin a franchise with something we've seen a million times? The boy was good because there was no supernatural stuff going on. The very alive and crazy Brahm's coming out of the mirror with a creepy mask and a childlike voice was different, scary, and interesting. Doll from first movie ends up being alive and getting boys to do it's dirty work, not even a little bit. I repeat...WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS A HUNDRED TIMES! Child's Play, Annabelle, all of their many unnecessary sequels...why make another one? Why ruin what was unique about this film? Oh, the movie was enough of a hit that you want to make more money with a sequel, but you've supposedly painted yourself in a corner with the ending of the last movie? How about using your imagination. I'm a writer. Here's an idea, off the top of my head. Brahms survives knife attack from first movie. Keeps hiding in the wall with his doll that he put back together. Family comes thinking house is abandoned. Instead of latching onto the boy in the family, he becomes obsessed with the mother, which goes along with his serial killer persona from the first movie. He starts with the manipulating with the doll again, the mother finds the woman from the first film to get the backstory, she comes back to the house to take care of the unfinished business with Brahms, and...go from there. Something like that is more in line with the first story, and if you have the imagination, you could do a lot with that premise to make it a good sequel. Just stick to the first one. Pretend these unnecessary sequels don't even exist. Sigh.

If you liked the first one, don't see this one.

[caitfrisko · 2/10 · 21 February 2020]

The story follows a boy who stops speaking after a hime invasion, and finds Brahms buried in the woods. In the original, we were led to believe that the doll was created for the Heelshires after they lost their son, who ended up living in the walls. This movie changes that, and takes away tbe elements that made the first movie good and creepy.

This film is predictable with no real plot twist that catches you off guard. The kid is really good though, and if you enjoy movies with cute but creepy kids, then it's worth Redboxing for that.

Katie Holmes is okay, the camera angles used in this film were not very flattering a lot of the times, and did not pull off what they were trying to do. Instead of making her look scared or in suspence, she just looked constipated.

If you enjoyed the original, don't bother with this one. If you just want a movie with a creepy doll and kid, with a few cheap scares, then I guess you'll find it interesting.

takes a massive dump all over the original

[FeastMode · 2/10 · 11 April 2021]

This is a sequel to The Boy, which i really liked. But the premise of this movie straight poops all over everything good about the original. It makes no sense why they would go in this direction.

But i'm a reasonable person, so i decided to just go with it and watch it as a new movie with a new premise. Unfortunately it keeps tying into the original, in worse and worse ways. It gets dumber and dumber. And by the end, it COMPLETELY changes everything we know and like about the original. Why? Please why?

On top of all of that... this movie just sucks. It's not scary. And it's so basic in every way imaginable. Every common horror trope you can think of, and not even done well. (1 viewing, 4/10/2021)

Cliché, but Entertaining

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 25 May 2020]

After a burglary in their house in London, Liza (Katie Holmes) and her son Jude (Christopher Convery) are traumatized: Lisa becomes frigid with her husband Sean (Owain Yeoman) and Jude a speechless boy. Liza and Sean decide to rekindle their lives moving to a house in the countryside nearby the Heelshire Mansion and Jude's psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence (Anjali Jay) agrees that it would be benefit for him. While walking through the woods with Liza, Jude finds a buried porcelain doll and decides to keep it. Then they meet the groundkeeper Joseph (Ralph Ineson) and his dog Oz that walks with Liza and Jude home. Jude becomes obsessed for the doll that he calls Brahms and shows rules to be followed by the family that Brahms told him. Further, he changes his behavior and weird things happen in the house.

"The Boy" (2016) is a surprisingly good horror film. The sequel "Brahms: The Boy II" (2020) is inferior to the original film but is a decent horror movie that uses many clichés, but startles in many scenes and entertains. The performances are good, the atmosphere is creepy, and the screenplay is acceptable. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Brahms: Boneco do Mal II" ("Brahms: Evil Doll II")

Ruins the legacy of first movie

[kaz_aam · 2/10 · 18 July 2020]

The first movie was an astonishing thriller realistically accomplished with just a china doll. Nothing supernatural, what so ever...

The squel ruins the whole heritage which the first movie built of.

Decent sequel though not quite as good as the first

[gluonpaul · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

I really dont know why this movie doesnt seem to be appealing to a lot of people I thought it was decent.

The acting was good, it kept up a suspenseful atmosphere and managed to make sure you felt tense at all the right times. It was a continuation (obviously) of the boy and while I will admit I thought the first one was better this was still a decent sequel.

My suggestion would be to give it a try at least, while i dont think this was a spectacular classic it was in my opinion an enjoyable watch and worth the time to give it a try.

Yikes

[bone-eater · 3/10 · 21 February 2020]

I remember watching The Boy (2016) and thinking, 'hey, alright-that's not a half bad concept' when it was revealed that there was no supernatural element whatsoever, just a grown man with next-level babytalk scurrying through the walls. Watching them ignore a perfectly good, unique concept in favor of making Brahms: The Boy II into Scary Doll Movie #5987 was such a bizarre letdown that I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Scary dolls have been done. We've all seen that movie before in countless different packages. Why would you undo such a great set-up established by the first movie just to tell us a story we've heard already?

As far as the acting and the technical aspects, it was all fairly unremarkable. Christopher Convery's a really creepy kid, Katie Holmes is a stressed out mom of the creepy kid, Owain Yeoman is The Supportive but Unhelpful Dad(tm). Typical horror stuff. There's nothing that stands out about anybody's performance, but that's really only due to the fact that they're all stuck in the most generic roles possible. There's some obligatory spooky musical cues and intense doll shots that were to be expected. The usual, the usual, the usual. It's just too bad that anything that was unique or engaging about the first film is missing from this one. I wouldn't necessarily call Brahms: The Boy II a horrible movie, it's just one that everybody's seen before.

2020 isn't being good for horror so far

[iamkeysersoze-13228 · 20 February 2020]

The Boy II isn't really a movie anybody asked for. Whilst it's not a flat out awful movie. it's painfully generic and dull and more lifeless than a dead corpse.

It has some moments of atmosphere but usually it's filled with annoying jump scares which doesn't work whatsoever. The film uses every trick in the book and it never succeeds.

The performances aren't that good. Everyone tries their best especially Katie Holmes. Ralph Ineson is the most talented of the lot but it's one of those films where even if you got the most talented of actors, they wouldn't be able to save it. It's only 86 minutes (including credits) and I think the story feels fine without being stretched out, but at the same time, not much decent character development happens. The final act is really bad though

That being said I did have a lot of fun and it's kinda enjoyable in a so bad, it's good way. It's not a terrible film, it actually does try to be good even if it doesnt feel like it.

But it's seriously not one to watch. I'm hoping The Invisible Man and The Hunt can redeem the horror genre.

Way under-rated.

[mmdookie · 8/10 · 23 February 2020]

It's a horror film about a doll. Once you accept that, it's hard to see how one could make a better one. Well acted, produced, directed and filmed.

A middle of the road effort that is neither really a sequel or prequel but a spinoff that suffers from tropes, but overall is serviceable because of atmosphere.

[gillianronnie · 6/10 · 21 February 2020]

The first film was fairly surprising imo though many hated the twist ending. I thought it worked rather well. This new film rewrites the story with the doll quite a bit and it will work with some and won't with many. The film has an overall similar feel to the first I. Ambience and scares and even gets a bit more demented at times. The cliches are there but if you know what you're getting into it shouldn't be surprising. Overall there are some interesting moments and enough creepiness to be decent enough.

A long movie for a short amount of time

[marc2458 · 5/10 · 25 February 2020]

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.

An honest review from a fan of the original.

[SamJamie · 5/10 · 3 April 2020]

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 boy part 2 is the worst sequel that has ever been made to a movie?

[awesome-21765 · 1/10 · 20 February 2020]

What's the point of sequels? Isn't it to explore the movie more and explain it further and give the answers to the wondering audiences? By the viewpoint of the producers of this movie, NOOO!!! It's to confuse you more and make you wonder what the hell you've watched.

Wasn't the doll lifeless and everything was actually orchestrated by the man called brahams living in the walls? That was the twist as far as i can remember. No the doll suddenly decided to be completely supernatural in this part, and no it was not meant to be psychological, the end almost confirmed the doll is supernatural. And this is the biggest hole in the movie. It was confusing all the time, the doll was moving its eyes and smiles, that was creepy but it is not what this doll was supposed to be! And the story had an open end, Please there is no need for a third part, this movie have died back in 2015 and remained there, this wasn't even a movie, it's cash grab.

Don't Waste Your Time

[ThomasDrufke · 3/10 · 3 March 2020]

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

Don't believe the hate!

[DigmasterFunk · 7/10 · 24 February 2020]

This wasn't the best movie ever but it's an enjoyable hour and a half.

There was nothing wrong with the film, it was well made, the acting was fine, had the jumps in all the right places. It did lack a little tension but it was fine. If you're a fan of the scary movie genre it's worth a watch.

Really bad

[Narcissist00 · 3/10 · 22 February 2020]

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.

Good sequel, greatly underrated.

[yahiasalah · 6/10 · 29 February 2020]

Dont know where the bad reviews came from! The movie is actually good in terms of main characters structure and logic of the scenario. It also links very well to its prequel. Note that this was almost the only way to make a sequel to "The Boy I", as the the prequel ended with no possibility to continue the same drama line. Worth trying, and not less than 6 any way.

Nothing happens and it takes 86 minutes, including credits, for it not to happen

[iboso64 · 3/10 · 21 February 2020]

The cast is game and the film is nicely shot, and has plenty of production value. What it lacks is any sort of real tension, at all. It also appears to have absolutely every second of footage they shot, in it, to keep the running time from being even shorter. The cast and the audience deserve better.

Worth a watch

[dphardmanfr · 8/10 · 11 October 2020]

Not a bad movie. It has enough to keep you entertained, the acting is good and the there's enough mystery to keep you guessing. I'd definitely recommend it. It isn't a horror but more of a spooky drama.

Not bad... but pretty predictable.

[stephenherman · 6/10 · 21 February 2020]

Let me start by saying, I LOVED THE FIRST ONE! It was so fresh and creepy and that TWIST! OMG! 😲

So I went in having high hopes for the sequel, especially since I saw it was same writer and director as the first one and they managed to attach Katie Holmes.

But I had to say I was highly disappointed with this movie. It checks off all the boxes, but it's kind of slow and pretty predictable. The plot could have been ramped up more as there was no real danger and the scares were pretty generic. And the final twist / 3rd act felt lackluster, especially when you compare to the 3rd act of the original.

Again, it's not a bad movie. You'll be entertained. It's just a missed opportunity in my opinion. The script needed a another pass.

They never should have made this sequel.

[Anurag-Shetty · 5/10 · 25 February 2020]

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.

About what I expected from this film

[aidanratesmovies · 2/10 · 27 September 2020]

An incredibly pointless, dull, and incoherent sequel- The Boy II makes the worst of its charisma from the last film, and offers absolutely nothing new or worth your time to the fullest extent. There are many flaws with this film, so I will start with the positives. Katie Holmes tries her best. Granted her lines, character, and situations her character gets into can all be rather predictable- but she does give the performance all she can, and I have to give her credit for at least trying. Besides that, this film is honestly a joke. Most of my complaints of this film come from the films final act, but the first two acts of this film are incredibly dull and provide nothing but a dragged out setup to make this film even exist in the first place. It feels like a cash grab so often, that I honestly wondered if anyone making this film behind the camera did it for any other reason than money. Finally, the main issue I wanted to address, was the last third of this dreaded film. Not only does this film contradict the original in so many ways that it begs some questions, but it also contradicts itself. There are a few moments to the end that clearly make no sense, with the dad acting like he just found out about everything he had already been told. Not only is this moment ridiculous, and serve only as a reason for him to come into the frame when needed, but the constant illogical measures it goes through trying to counter the original film is incredibly annoying and honestly ruins it all together. I won't spoil what they did exactly, but needless to say it doesn't make any sense, as with the very last scene of the film where all logic just seems to be completely thrown out the window. In the end, Brahms: The Boy II is a completely useless and forgettable sequel that really is better left for the bargain bin at your local Walmart than in any major theater. Trust me, if you are a fan of the first film, enjoy horror, or just like even remotely good films, don't see this one. Chances are you'll have the very same response. My Rating: 2.5/10