Brahms: The Boy II Comes to Blu-ray in May With Alternate Ending

After a number of theatrical release date delays, Brahms: The Boy II finally landed in theaters earlier this year, with the film set to land on home video in May with an alternate ending. While fans might not be entirely looking forward to the home video release, as Rotten Tomatoes calculates only 10% of critics gave it a positive review while only 44% of audiences enjoyed the experience, but for fans curious about the adventure, seeing it on home video might come with a more manageable price tag. Brahms: The Boy II hits shelves on May 19th.

In the film, “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 lifelike doll he calls Brahms. Katie Holmes stars as a mother who increasingly becomes uneasy and terrorized by her son’s new supernatural ‘friend.’”

The Blu-ray’s special features are as follows:

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes

Brahms isn’t the only horror film this year to earn disappointing reviews, as films like The Grudge (20% positive reviews) and The Turning (12% positive reviews) also debuted earlier this year, failing to connect with either critics or audiences. Interestingly, both of those films’ home video releases also include alternate endings, with it seeming as though the studios are hoping to offer audiences a more fulfilling narrative with these changed conclusions to their films.

William Bibbiani at TheWrap noted, “The film has no suspense, wit, or shock value. It’s too ploddingly paced to elicit a proper jump scare, and it’s nowhere near insightful enough to get under the skin. The only thing interesting about this disappointing follow-up is how it takes the original film down with it, retroactively hurting the chances of The Boy becoming a beloved cult classic.”

Meagan Navarro at Bloody Disgusting revealed, “The plot beats and scares all feel stale. The horror plays much too safe. The idea of giving audiences exactly what they thought they were getting in the first film seems smart on paper, but this sequel is too afraid to take any real risks. Brahms might have made for a fun playdate before, but his game has become all too predictable.

As far as positive reviews go, Eddie Harrison at The List rated it a 3 out of 5, while detailing, “Without any notably tense or memorable sequences, The Boy II manages to creep audiences out in this traditional fashion; horror aficionados, at least, should enjoy the ancient yet effective tactics employed here.”

Brahms: The Boy II hits Blu-ray on May 19th. Pre-orders are live on Amazon now.

Will you be adding the film to your collection? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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