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.
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.