Brahms: The Boy 2  ★★

IT WAS a good start to February 2020 for cinema horror with The Grudge, Colour Out of Space and The Invisible Man.

Unfortunately it pretty much stalled from there.

Fantasy Island was woeful and Brahms: The Boy is average. I haven’t seen it yet, but The Lodge may re-balance the ledger.

The Boy was released in 2016 straight to streaming. It didn’t deserve a cinema run, being a predictable evil doll story.

But it’s atmospherics were good and I recall several decent jump scares.

The sequel, Brahms: The Boy, is weaker but gets a cinema run by virtue of the fact it’s ready for release at the quiet time of year.

It starts well with a woman and her son being terrorised by two attackers in their home. This incident is used to shift them into the country to a house near the now abandoned manor where the events from the original film occurred.

It also provides the boy’s parents, Liza and Sean, with the excuse to constantly except Jude’s growingly disturbing behaviour after he digs up this old doll, starts dressing it and making them make it dinner.

“It’s OK,” the psychiatrist says,. ‘the doll is just providing a safe outlet for him to channel his anger and frustration.”

Yep, that’s right, but maybe not quite the high level of anger that you meant.

Katie Holmes (remember her?) plays the mum but is really only required to look scared. The doll, Brahms, is a little creepy but you’ve seen plenty worse.

Everything moves slowly to the predictable ending.