Horror is known for having a terrible reputation with sequels. They are like remakes, always falling flat and missing what made the first one great.

The Boy was released in 2016 and features an American woman, called Greta, played by Lauren Cohan, travelling to the UK to get away from her abusive ex and to be a nanny for an elderly couple’s son, Brahms, only to discover that it’s a doll, not a boy. The doll has rules, which Greta ignores, but soon strange things happen, which indicates that the doll is alive.

Spoiler alert if you haven’t watched any of the films. Her ex comes back and smashes the doll, and from a panel in the wall, the real Brahms is revealed. He has been in the walls the whole time, and it was him moving the doll and items. The doll was just a doll. It ends with the house burning down and the doll being stitched back together by the human Brahms.

Brahms: The Boy 2 came out in 2020 and made no sense. The ending reveals that the doll is now possessed and is moving on its own. It completely makes the first film moot. We already established the doll is just a doll, and it would have been great to see more of a human Brahms wandering around the walls, but he is never seen in the second film.

It’s rare that a film completely messes up and does such a bad job that it, in theory, cancels out the first film, making it make no sense or a reason to exist.

It was panned by critics and fans and grossed $20 million against a budget of $10 million. It was also the last project of the company, Lakeshore Entertainment, before it shut down.