Film Review: BRAHMS: THE BOY II (2020)

Director William Brent Bell returns to helm the unnecessary sequel Brahms: The Boy II (2020).  I say unnecessary as if you’ve seen the original film, then you know there is no need or logical place for a sequel to go, so writer   The original film was very much related in the “real” world but this sequel obviously goes into supernatural territory.

Stacey Menear decides to rewrite a lot of what made the original film such a great, yet surprising, film.

Liza (Katie Holmes) and her son Jude (Christopher Convey) are assaulted in their home while her husband Sean (Owain Yeoman) is away.  Suffering from stress from that night, Jude has stopped talking and Liza starts suffering from nightmares so they decide to uproot their family and move out to the country to heal.  Unbeknownst to them, they move into the cottage next to the one that featured in the original film.  When the family goes for a walk in the woods and venture to closely to that house, Jude finds the doll Brahms buried in the ground.  They also meet Joseph (Ralph Ineson), the groundskeeper, who tells them about some of the history involving the house.

Back at home, Liza begins to notice strange behavior in her son Jude.  She discovers Brahms “rules” and Jude starts to dress and act like Brahms.  She starts to question where Brahms came from and her investigation leads to a slew of murders and stories involving Brahm’s original home and its inhabitants to the point where she starts to think that maybe her son is possessed by the doll.  Now she must find a way to save her son before it is too late.

The first two-thirds of the film is actually not that bad.  Menear does a great job creating characters that actually have a captivating story that is rounded out by a great cast to bring it to life.  The film looks great and the atmosphere of dread permeates the film.  It is the fact that the film ultimately takes a supernatural turn in the third act that destroys the good will built up to that point.  The explanation for everything borders on ludicrous especially considering the original film.  The film would have been better served as an original stand-alone film rather than a sequel due to the baggage.  Keeping this in mind it’s anyone’s guess if you will ultimately enjoy the film although it may be better enjoyed by audiences who have never seen the original as which point the film should have just been called “Brahms”.

Film Review: OOGA BOOGA (2013)

Charles Band directs the Full Moon Features production Ooga Booga (2013) which takes on police brutality and racism head on.  True to most Full Moon films, this film is overly blatant with its handling of controversial subject matters which is most of the charm of the studio’s most famous and entertaining films.  Ooga Booga is the story of Devin (Wade F. Wilson) who is given a doll dubbed the Ooga Booga from a co-worker trying to break into the action figure/doll toy line.  While at a convenience store he watches some Meth Heads rob and kill the store owner.  Devin comes out of hiding when the Meth Heads are gone and tries to save the store owner by calling the police. 

When the police arrive, Officer White (Gregory Niebel) accuses Devin of the murder due to the fact that he is racist and needs a “black guy” to take the fall.  Officer White kills Devin in front of his partner and it all becomes “case closed” due to the fact that the Judge over the case (Stacy Keach) is also a racist.  Unbeknownst to them all, Devin’s spirit enters the Ooga Booga doll and he seeks out revenge for his death.  With the help of Donna (Ciarra Carter), Devin’s girlfriend, the Ooga Booga doll will cut a path of death from the Meth Heads up to the Judge until everyone responsible is held accountable.

If you are a fan of Full Moon Features then there will be a lot to like about the film as it follows the same path as most of their most well-known films.  For those not familiar with the Full Moon aesthetics then this will probably be seen as a complete and utter mess.  The Full Moon empire has crafted a unique style and genre of films for the B-movie fan and if you know that going in then their films can be quite entertaining in their absurdity.  This film is no different than their Head of the Family, Puppet Master, or Gindgerdead Man franchises.