It’s always interesting to see which original horror films get sequels. Critical acclaim often fades into the background, as commercial success pushes production companies forward in making these new films. Films that get panned by critics end up having two, three, or four sequels, while individual critical darlings are one-and-done. In this case, “The Boy,” which came out in 2016 and panned universally by critics, looks to be given a second chance in the form of “Brahms: The Boy II.”
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Reuniting director William Brent Bell (“The Devil Inside”) with screenwriter Stacey Menear (“The Boy”), “Brahms: The Boy II” will focus again on a creepy doll found by a young child. Though the film’s been in development since 2018, star Katie Holmes (“Batman Begins”) has been attached since the beginning, and the trailer shows her being terrified of this small doll. The sequel will try to replicate the success of its predecessor, which rolled in $64 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. Though it received only 30% on the popular Rotten Tomatoes critical aggregator, it still attracted a bit of a cult following.
Here is the official synopsis for the sequel:
Unaware of the terrifying history of Heelshire Mansion, a young family moves into a guest house on the estate where their young son soon makes an unsettling new friend, an eerily life-like doll he calls Brahms.
“Brahms: The Boy II” follows other recent horror sequels like “Annabelle Comes Home,” “It: Chapter 2,” and “Child’s Play.” Though none of these have achieved any awards success, they usually bring in huge hauls at the box office. Bell’s film will have to work harder to achieve the same goal, with a cast largely comprised of TV actors and unknown faces you think you might have seen in a different film, the ones you recognize but can’t place. Joining Holmes is Owain Yeoman (“The Mentalist”) and Ralph Ineson (“The Witch”), with young Christopher Convery (“Gotham”) portraying the role of the rich boy infatuated with a terrifying doll. Though the cast might not feature household names, the actors have a collective experience in horror and drama, which should help put Menear’s script into familiar, if not successful, territory.
“Brahms: The Boy II” will be released by STX Entertainment on February 21.