Katie Holmes
Liza
Brahms: The Boy II
“He's made a friend.”
2020
1h 27m
PG-13 · EnglishDirector: William Brent Bell
Overview
After a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their young son soon makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.
Cast
9 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Doll That Wouldn’t Stay Dead
I’ve seen this trick before. A haunted doll, a grieving family, a mansion with too many shadows—it’s the kind of horror that writes itself, or at least that’s what the producers of Brahms: The Boy II must have thought. The first Boy film in 2016 had a clever twist: the doll wasn’t supernatural at all, just a prop for a very human monster.
This sequel, though, tosses that revelation out the window like a broken toy. Brahms is back, and this time, he’s really possessed. Or cursed.
Or something. The film never bothers to clarify, and by the end, I’m not sure it matters.
The setup is familiar enough. Liza (Katie Holmes) and her son Jude (Christopher Convery) move into the Heelshire Mansion after a traumatic home invasion leaves Jude mute and Liza jumpy. Almost immediately, Jude finds a porcelain doll buried in the woods—Brahms, of course—and the two become inseparable.
The doll whispers to him. Moves on its own. And soon, the family’s new groundskeeper, Joseph (Ralph Ineson, doing his best grizzled-woodsman impression), starts dropping ominous hints about the doll’s “rules.” Don’t let it out of your sight.
Don’t let it get wet. Don’t, whatever you do, let it sleep alone.
It’s the kind of premise that should work in theory. Dolls are inherently unsettling—those glassy eyes, that frozen smile, the way they seem to watch you even when you’re not looking. And the first Boy film leaned into that unease, building a slow-burn mystery around the doll’s origins.
But Brahms II doesn’t have the patience for mystery. It wants scares, and it wants them now. The result is a film that feels like it was assembled from a horror-movie checklist: jump cuts, creaking doors, a nightmare sequence that goes on just long enough to make you roll your eyes.
(The nightmare, by the way, involves Jude sleepwalking into the woods, where he’s chased by a faceless figure in a burlap sack. It’s the kind of scene that would’ve been cliché in a Goosebumps episode.)
Audience Opinions
Audience 4.2/10
"A forgettable horror sequel that fails to build on its predecessor’s eerie atmosphere, relying on tired jump scares and weak character development."
The continuation of the Brahms story is underwhelming, with predictable, uninspired scares. The performances, particularly the child actor’s, drew occasional praise, but the lack of originality and thin plot disappointed most. The setting and premise had potential, but the execution falls flat.
What viewers praise
- Child actor performance Christopher Convery’s young boy is one of the few standout elements, an engaging performance for some.
- Atmospheric setting The eerie mansion and gothic aesthetic are visually effective, even if the story doesn’t capitalize on them.
- Decent jump scares A few moments are effectively tense, though overshadowed by predictability.
Common complaints
- Predictable plot The story rehashes familiar horror tropes without adding anything new.
- Weak character development Characters, including the leads, are underdeveloped, making it hard to care about their fates.
- Overused jump scares The scares rely on loud noises and cheap thrills rather than genuine suspense.
- Lack of originality A pale imitation of the first film that fails to expand its mythology or themes in any meaningful way.
Recommended for
Fans of the first film Casual horror viewers Gothic horror enthusiasts Weekend scare seekers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsKatie Holmes and the Creepy Comeback: Inside Brahms: The Boy II
The porcelain doll that terrified audiences in The Boy (2016) was back—and this time, he had a new family to haunt. Brahms: The Boy II (2020), directed by William Brent Bell, promised to expand the eerie lore of the Heelshire Manor doll, but behind the scenes, the sequel’s journey was as fraught as its on-screen scares.
A Sequel Born from Surprise Success
The original The Boy (2016) was a sleeper hit, grossing over $64 million worldwide on a modest $10 million budget. Its mix of gothic horror and psychological tension left fans clamoring for more, and by 2018, STX Entertainment greenlit a sequel. Bell returned to direct, this time shifting the focus from a nanny (played by Lauren Cohan in the first film) to a traumatized young boy and his parents—Katie Holmes and Owain Yeoman.
The premise was simple: after a violent home invasion, the family relocates to the English countryside, where their son, Jude (Christopher Convery), befriends a mysterious doll buried in the woods. Unbeknownst to them, it’s Brahms—the same sinister figure from the first film. The sequel leaned harder into supernatural horror, with Brahms’ influence extending beyond the doll itself.
Katie Holmes’ Return to Horror
Holmes, who had dabbled in horror before (The Gift, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark), was no stranger to the genre’s demands. But Brahms: The Boy II marked her first major horror role in years, and she approached it with a mix of professionalism and caution. In trailers, her character, Liza, was positioned as a protective mother, but the film’s marketing hinted at deeper psychological unraveling.
Rumors swirled that Holmes was drawn to the project’s emotional core—exploring trauma and parental fear—rather than just the scares. However, no on-set interviews or behind-the-scenes accounts from the cast have surfaced to confirm this, leaving her motivations for taking the role largely speculative.
A Divisive Reception
When Brahms: The Boy II hit theaters in February 2020, it arrived to mixed reviews. Critics called it a "serviceable but forgettable" sequel, with a 3.9/10 rating on SensCritique. Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score was similarly lukewarm, though no exact figure was provided in the available evidence.
Common Sense Media’s review questioned whether the film "took terror to the next level," suggesting it struggled to match the original’s unsettling atmosphere. Some viewers praised the performances—particularly Convery’s portrayal of Jude—but others felt the scares relied too heavily on jump cuts and predictable doll-related tropes.
The Future of Brahms?
Despite its underwhelming reception, Brahms: The Boy II still turned a profit, grossing $20 million worldwide against a reported $10 million budget (though exact figures remain unconfirmed). However, no official plans for a third installment have been announced.
Bell, a horror veteran known for The Devil Inside and Stay Alive, has continued working in the genre, but his focus has shifted to other projects. For now, Brahms remains buried—at least until another sequel digs him up.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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