Oh boy, it’s time to put this doll back in the box

Brahms: The Boy II (15)

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When certain movies end you are left begging for more and desperate to see the story continue in a follow-up.

The Boy wasn’t one of those films.

Despite Lauren Cohan’s best efforts, the pace was so sedate and the scares so sloppy that not even the bonkers twist could save the day.

Another leading lady – this time

Katie Holmes (Liza) – is roped into starring in a sequel that sees the return of sinister life-like doll

Brahms.

Alarm bells were already ringing given the quality of its predecessor but considering the fact Holmes hasn’t been a regular big screen presence in years and returning director William Brent

Bell helmed horror duds Stay

Alive and The Devil Inside, their decibel levels would deafen you.

And sadly the finished product doesn’t throw up any pleasant surprises; Brahms: The Boy II is a desperately poor flick.

Holmes acts like she can’t be bothered – and it’s hard to blame her.

Apart from Brit Ralph Ineson,

I didn’t recognise anyone else among the fairly small cast which should tell you how sought after a project this was.

First movie writer Stacey

Menear is back on scripting duties and does give Liza some character with a post-traumatic stress storyline based around a burglary.

But any attempts to build uneasy feelings are undermined by the two things killing many modern horror films; bad CGI and an overreliance on lazy jump scares. The porcelain Brahms doll doesn’t elicit terror and wouldn’t last 10 seconds in a showdown with Chucky.

The predictable plot plods along with zero energy and there isn’t even a twist – even a bad one to get you talking – to bring some life this time around.

Brahms: The Boy II is a sequel the world didn’t need; it’s time to put this doll back in the box for good.

Suspicions raised Katie Holmes stars as Liza