(Spoilers for "Sinister")
Sinister 2:
Some time after the conclusion of the first film, the young deputy from that film is traveling the United States, trying to destroy the demonic influence of Bughuul. However, after discovering a single mother and her two boys have moved into one of the houses where Bughuul killed a family, he realizes he must protect this family from the evil forces ready to consume them.
Now, I saw this film opening night, and, being a fan of the first film, was quite excited for it. I was growing more and more skeptical of the trailers as the date approached, but I went with my friend with an open mind. I was absolutely bedazzled by this film's ability to fuck up the mythology of a character and just general common sense in regards to character behavior. I won't go into too much detail, I am planning on making a more elaborate video review one day, because literally to explain the wrong that is this movie would require breaking down almost every single scene.
James Ransone is a criminally underrated actor, so it was sad to see him trying so hard in this movie, and being dragged down in this mess. Shannyn Sossamon did a fair job with the material, but her and Ransone's romance was highly predictable if you've seen any movie ever. The two boys in the film are pretty bad. One is bland, the other is tongue-in-cheek pure evil, which is odd considering how normal he was at the start of the movie. Tate Ellington and John Beasley have small roles, and Lea Coco has one of the most gloriously over-the-top douchebag dad roles in cinema history. I mean, Jesus Christ, the lack of nuance is kind of an art in itself with this guy. Lucas Jade Zumann is amusing as Milo, one of the evil ghost kids in the movie. He's like a mini-Bond villain, he's so hammy.
The scares in the movie are all cheap, pandering jump scares, and there's no real build-up or genuine sense of dread like there was in the first film. This movie's soundtrack is even subpar in comparison, using blander tracks or just recycling music from the previous film.
The biggest problem with the movie is the Super 8 films. The concept of the kids killing their own families was already a slight stretch, but the amount of reality bending in this film is absurd. I know Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill have defended jump scares before, but their overuse in the film borderlines on self-parody.
Speaking of overuse, Bughuul himself is way overexposed in this one, having no longer a sense of terror surrounding his sporadic appearances. Here, he's everywhere constantly. And the lighting they chose really emphasizes the ridiculousness of his attire, whereas the original kept him shrouded in shadow.
The deaths are also far too elaborate this time around. Much like a slasher sequel, it suffers from focusing too much on having cool-looking kills, without keeping in mind realism, or actually being scary.
There was no mystique this time around because we, as an audience, already know Bughuul exists and that the kids are killing their families. There's no longer a sense of a mystery killer. I can't even believe this was written by the same people.
This is not, in any sense, a scary movie. However, if you enjoy some unintentionally hilarious lines and ridiculously overblown death scenes, as well as some light melodrama, this is a film for you. As bad as it is, and as much as it soils the name of the original film (a film I really enjoyed), it is an extremely entertaining movie, a movie me and my friend have quoted and referenced since it came out. Sinister 2 is a disaster of a horror film, but still can be appreciated for the silly dark comedy it turned out to be. 5/10 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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