Brahms The Boy II Movie Review
In The Boy (2016) directed by William Brent Bell himself, Brahms the doll had nothing to do with the strange happenings in the Heelshire Mansion. It was actually Brahms, a real man living inside the walls of the house who was the cause behind much mayhem. In this sequel, the director has turned the earlier story upon its head by claiming that it was the doll which was the culprit all along and which got into the man’s head and turned him evil. And it tells us that the doll has found another victim who might turn out to be just like Brahms the man later in life. Now, for those who haven’t seen the first film, the whole premise seems a bit confusing. Viewers do come to know what happened earlier through a series of news articles uncovered by Katie Holmes’ character but they still don’t get the whole picture. And, for those who liked the film because it turned out to be a psychological thriller rather than a supernatural horror film, this new revelation would come as a shock. They would feel mightily cheated by this turn of events.
The film does try to draw on the fact that both Liza (Katie Holmes) and her young son Jude (Christopher Convery) are victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome after masked men broke into their home. It’s not specified what the men did with her. Did they just rob the place, did they rape her, did they hurt her badly enough for her to live in denial about it. Even after months have elapsed, she prefers not talking about it and doesn’t even allow her husband to have some sort of physical intimacy with her. Jude is hurt more by the incidence than her in the sense that he loses his ability to talk. That’s when they decide to move out of London and live in a cottage on the grounds of the infamous Heelshire Mansion. Why they didn’t read up about the property before moving in is anybody’s guess. Jude finds the doll Brahms buried near the cottage and slowly the doll takes control of the boy’s thoughts, filling him with increasingly violent imagery. A variety of supernatural happenings too take place, spooking Liza the most, before the family unites together for one last stand against the evil.
It’s always good to see Katie Holmes in a leading role and she does bear up nicely as the woman who thinks she’s losing her mind because of what’s happening around her. If only the director had focussed on that strand alone and not gone for the supernatural angle involving the doll and the boy, we would have been left with an infinitely better film. Christopher Convery does have a cherubic face and we certainly don’t want him to become a pawn of evil but given the predictable nature of the plot and the director’s adherence to popular horror tropes, we know it’s an inevitable end alright.
Summing up, Brahms: The Boy II, is a kind of self-indulgent exercise by the director who perhaps wanted to explore another tangent to his earlier film. It’s neither here nor there and seems a bit pointless, really.
Trailer : Brahms The Boy II
Neil Soans, February 21, 2020, 3:29 AM IST
Brahms: The Boy II Story: A young family moves into the Heelshire Mansion where the son befriends a life-like doll named Brahms, in this sequel to ‘The Boy’ (2016).
Brahms: The Boy II Review: Picking up after the events of ‘The Boy’, Liza (Katie Holmes), her husband Sean (Owain Yeoman), and their son Jude (Christopher Convery) move into the guest house at the Heelshire Mansion. Over there, Jude befriends a life-like doll named Brahms, and begins to exhibit odd behaviour to the dismay of his mother and father, as they try to communicate with the young boy to figure what’s going on with him.
Despite that, there are significant issues with the film’s pacing, especially in the second act. The film drags on without any significant plot developments, and although we get to see the effect Brahms has on Jude, it isn’t captivating enough. Other than one sequence involving bullying, the film trudges on as it heads to the third act, especially the climax, which only raises more questions in a frustrating manner. The entire setup goes to waste by this point because director William Brent Bell is tasked with a perplexing script by writer Stacey Menear. The writer also worked on the first film and oddly, chooses to flip its narrative. Even if you haven’t watched ‘The Boy’, this film starts with the potential to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but throws it away by the end. Besides some jump scares and the sporadic unsettling visuals, you won’t get much bang for your buck as a horror fan.
