Brahms: The Boy II (2020) Review
The Heelshire Mansion has a very dark history that most who live near it are aware of. A young family who has no idea of the goings on at the mansion are about to come face to face with a terrifying evil. The couple have a young son who discovers a doll named Brahms. It soon becomes apparent that something sentient resides in Brahms, and it is looking to use the boy as a conduit for unleashing terror.
I really liked the original THE BOY (2016), a film that had moderate box-office success despite a lukewarm response from the critics. I found it surprisingly creepy which is not something that I could say about this follow-up, instead the only word that springs to mind is ‘comfortable’. That’s right, it’s ‘comfortable’ horror viewing, which is a kind of oxymoron but this is utterly predictable and safe, neither of which makes for a proper horror viewing experience.
BRAHMS THE BOY II looks like a horror film and follows the standard horror film tropes but doesn’t really do what a horror film should do. Instead it leaves you feeling irritated beyond belief at the flaccidity of it all instead of being enthralling and spooky. Lead character Liza (played by Katie Holmes) is called upon to simply walk around with her eyes wide in permanent ‘surprise’ mode to emphasize that nothing is all it seems. She’s not wrong, nothing here is as it should be; I want to be on the edge of my seat not clock-watching and checking messages on my phone.
I totally understand that diluted ‘horror’ of this ilk is deliberately watered down to achieve a family friendly rating in the States in order to reach a wider demographic (and therefore more bucks at the all important box-office) but this has played too safe. The likes of JAWS and JURASSIC PARK were aimed at family audiences and still managed to genuinely scare and thrill audiences so why go so low as this as to have the scares barely register at all?