Brahms: The Boy II is a sludge of a sequel to get through and while I didn’t care much for the first movie, this one somehow manages to be even worse, a dull film with very few, if any, redeeming qualities.
Brahms: The Boy II
(2020)
Genre(s): Supernatural Horror
Universal | PG13 – 87 min. – $22.98 | May 19, 2020
Date Published: 05/23/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 1.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Unaware of the terrifying history of Heelshire Mansion, following a tramatizing event, Liza (KATIE HOLMES) and Sean (OWAINE YEOMAN) moves into a guest house on the estate where their young son, Jude (CHRISTOPHER CONVERY, soon makes an unsettling new friend, an eerily life-like doll he calls Brahms. Review: The Boy, released in 2016, was a misfire of a supernatural horror movie, though I suppose has that good-bad element for some segments out there. Also had Lauren Cohan in the lead which is never a bad thing, otherwise it was bland in the possessed doll subgenre. Now four years later, we get Brahms: The Boy II with the same director and writer back for more, and yet this one is not only bland, but downright boring. Don’t really understand why the filmmakers didn’t go all-out with the craziness and instead tries to build some sort of a hauntingly moody setting, however still failed. Beyond that, there was nothing frightening and the expected jump scares are the worst kind: taking place within nightmares… I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I’m not a fan of supernatural horror movies with few exceptions (Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist) but even so, I can’t imagine the most fanatical fan finding anything worthwhile. One of my criticisms for this, which also extends to the Annabelle movies, is it’s just not all that scary watching a possessed doll manipulating someone else to do their deeds. Contrast that with the Child’s Play franchise where Chucky is possessed by an evil person, and thus commits the killings, it makes for a far more entertaining time. Casting wise, no real standouts. Katie Holmes does get top billing here but like her co-stars, kind of looked disinterested in the material, not that I can blame them. Christopher Convery who plays the kid here isn’t creepy and Ralph Ineson, who made a splash in the widely divisive The Witch, doesn’t bring a whole lot either. Even with a really short 87-minute running time (closer to 80-minutes without credits), Brahms: The Boy II is a rather poorly made film that will go down with so many other forgettably bad supernatural horror films, including The Devil Inside which William Brent Bell also helmed, and rightfully so. This isn’t even worth free viewing once it makes it onto a streaming service. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover. Not a whole lot here except an Alternate Ending (8:29) and six Alternate/Deleted Scenes (9:54). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Brahms: The Boy II is presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. While most of the movie is dimly lit, this still isn’t a half bad looking picture, detail at least was well defined for both the close-up and more distant shots, and black levels appeared stark while not oversaturated. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The movie includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which I found to be about average for the format, meaning it does sound quite good. Dialogue comes through the center speaker, as does most of the action, with fine clarity and the front and rear channels do show off some depth with ambient noises or off-screen elements like a piano playing in another room or off-camera action. |
OVERALL – 1.5/5 |
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Brahms: The Boy II is a sludge of a sequel to get through and while I didn’t care much for the first movie, this one somehow manages to be even worse, a dull film with very few, if any, redeeming qualities save for I suppose seeing Katie Holmes headline a movie, though even she didn’t seem all that committed, and can’t really blame her. |