The doll is back in a rather odd and unnecessary sequel to the 2016 surprise horror hit!
One of the the scariest thoughts I had when I was halfway through this horror sequel is the fact that Katie Holmes somehow turned down the chance to reprise her role as Rachel in the The Dark Knight sequel, but somehow, was more than willing to star in this!
The Boy II perfectly sums up why some horror sequels should never be made. The best thing about its original was the fact that it took the premise of something like Annabelle and for a while made us all think we were watching a rip/off, until a twisty reveal at its climax, turned everything on its head and made what could have been an instantly forgettable horror, become an interesting one.
For those who haven’t seen The Boy (then why are you reading this review?), then here comes the spoiler: You Have Been Warned:
The reveal that the doll was not haunted and the fact that poor Lauren Cohen was in fact being tormented by the actual alive Brahms, who lived in the walls of the house, was a decent twist that raised interest from the horror crowd. Yet The Boy II somehow takes that concept, pulls down its own trousers….and pisses all over the idea.
Sorry to be crude, but its quite unbelievable that a sequel could be made with so much disregard of what made the whole plot work before. What we end up with is a film that tries too hard to be exactly like an Annabelle film, the very notion its predecessor tried so hard not to be!
To be fair, the opening scene is pretty good and builds a promise that it never fulfils. Lisa (Holmes) awakes in the middle of the night and is faced with some intruders in which she fights back to protect her son Jude (Christopher Convery). Its a great tension filled sequence that sadly is the only highlight of a horror that still has nearly a hour and 10 minutes to run!
Traumatised after the ordeal, they along with the husband Sean (Owain Yeoman), escape from city life and head to a Guest House that just happens to be next door to a familiar looking mansion. Jude who hasn’t spoken since the attacks, stumbles across a buried Porcelain doll and like most parents in the horror genre, they are more than willing for him to take it home and make it part of the family.
Well you can guess the rest?
The biggest shock that occurred through out the entire watch was when the film reveals its hand in which we see Brahms actually move for the first time. How and why, considering we never saw the doll move once in the first film, is the most dullest and stupidest plot switch in recent memory.
The whole mythos of Brahms being rewritten for a needless sequel is pretty much unforgivable and no doubt piss off fans who wanted the plot expanded and any hope of originality and freshness are long gone as each dull scene plays out.
Any hope of scares slowly dwindle thanks to its creaking plot and with a climax that will strike fear into you as you may die from laughing too hard at the overblown CGI . Added to a final shot straight from a Friday the 13th flick, what you have is one of the most laziest sequels in recent times.
Brahms: The Boy II is that ghastly and downright awful that you worry what director William Brent Bell will do with his planned prequel to the quite brilliant Orphan…
I shudder at the prospect!
Hacked 2 Pieces 